Four out of Five Women Have Fibroid, Say Experts

               

Gynaecologists and radiologists have disclosed  that fibroids are extremely common among most women.
According to them, up to four out of every five women have fibroids, although most of these women have no symptoms and do not need any treatment.

Speaking during an interview, Prof. Oladapo Ashiru, Managing Director, MART Clinics, Maryland, Lagos said fibroids cause symptoms in approximately one out of every four women of reproductive age.

Ashiru said they are usually detected in women in their thirties and forties and are more common in black women than white women adding that fibroids usually shrink after menopause. He added that until fibroids are gotten rid of, it poses difficulty for women seeking conception.

Also speaking on the condition, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi said some common symptoms associated with fibroids include: abnormal uterine bleeding and heavy or long menstrual cycles.

Ajayi added that bulk and pressure symptoms include bladder pressure, frequent urination, rectal pressure, constipation, infertility or recurrent miscarriages, pregnancy complications, pain and anaemia.

In his perspective on the issue, Dr. Abiodun Kuti, consultant radiologist at Prisms Clinics, Surulere, Lagos said fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow from the muscle layers of the uterus (womb). Kuti added that they are also known as uterine fibroids, myomas, or fibromyomas.

“Fibroids are growths of smooth muscle and fibrous tissue. Fibroids can vary in size, from that of a bean to as large as a melon,” Kuti stated.

According to the experts there are many different types of fibroids and depending on their size and location there can present with a wide range of symptoms.

Kuti gave a breakdown thus: Submucosal fibroids: These fibroids are located just underneath the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, and protrude into the uterine cavity.  Submucosal fibroids can vary in how much of the fibroid protrudes into the uterine cavity and how much is in the muscle of the uterus. They often cause heavy bleeding and long periods, but they can also cause irregular bleeding.

Intramural fibroids:  These fibroids are found predominantly in the myometrium, or muscle of the uterus. Depending on their size and location, these fibroids can also extend toward and distort the uterine cavity or protrude outside the uterus.  Intramural fibroids can be asymptomatic (causing no symptoms), cause bleeding abnormalities, or cause pressure and bulk symptoms.

There is also subserosal fibroids: These fibroids are located near the outside of the uterus.  They can be partially in the myometrium (muscle of the uterus) or hanging off the outside of the uterus. They can cause bulk symptoms such as bladder or rectal pressure.
Ajayi noted that there is a wide range of treatment options for fibroids, adding that many factors influence treatment choice.  These, he added, include symptoms, fibroid location, size and number, age, reproductive plans and a woman's preferences.

He said there is medical management, which is in form of a medication given as an injection (shot), either every month or every three months, and puts the woman in a temporary state of menopause. He added that while on the medication, the fibroids shrink and once the medication is stopped, the fibroids usually re-grow and symptoms return. He said this form is used to prepare women for surgery or to bridge women close to their natural menopause.

Ajayi also mentioned laparoscopic myomectomy as another technique used to remove fibroids that are intramural (deep in the muscle of the uterine wall).

“This minimally invasive technique uses a laparoscopic technique to remove the fibroids through very small incisions. It is a day surgery procedure, the woman typically leaves the hospital one to two hours after the completion of the procedure with a one to two-week recovery period,” he stated.

Kuti said Prisms Diagnostic Clinic is a referral diagnostic centre that offers plain X-ray services for all anatomic structures, ultra sonography of organs such as obstetrics and gyneacological, cases, liver gallbladder, spleen, kidneys, thyroid, prostate, testes, etc.
He stated that fibroids are treatable condition to allow women of reproductive age conceive and carry their own babies.

SOURCE : www.thisdaylive.com