According to government statistics, about 20 million American women have had a hysterectomy; the surgical removal of the uterus.
Very often, doctors recommend hysterectomy to women who suffer from uterine fibroids. But now, thanks to a growing field of medicine, there's an alternative to hysterectomy.
Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors. They're usually not a problem. But sometimes, they can seriously affect a woman's health and well-being.
"Many patients will have very long and very heavy periods to where they feel they can't go out of the house. It's really debilitating," said Dr. Patricia Stoltzfus, WVU Interventional Radiologist. "And fibroids can grow quite large and cause pressure symptoms. They can grow as large as a five-month-old fetus."
When fibroid symptoms are this extreme, doctors often call for hysterectomy. But this radical step can often be prevented with a procedure called Uterine Fibroid Embolization.
A catheter is inserted through an artery to the uterus.
"…and then we inject tiny little particles which go into the fibroid and block the blood flow to the fibroid; and the fibroid dies and starts to shrink," Stoltzfus said. "And if the patient had symptoms of bleeding, that stops almost immediately or within one cycle."
Uterine Fibroid Embolization is performed only by doctors who specialize in interventional radiology. Fibroid embolization has an excellent success rate. It's less invasive and less painful.
"Hospitalization is much shorter," added Stoltzfus. "They're only kept overnight for uterine fibroid embolization, where hysterectomy might be three or four days. So recovery time is much shorter."
If you suffer with uterine fibroids, ask your doctor how interventional radiology can help you avoid hysterectomy.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WOWK. All Rights Reserved.
