Approximately 13 million American women suffer from uterine fibroids that can cause painful cramps and may even interfere with their ability to have a child.According to the National Institutes of Health, at least 25 percent of women suffer from uterine fibroids, which are benign growths that develop on or in the uterus and can be as small as a pea or as large as a grapefruit.
Symptoms can include heavy or painful periods, spotting, pressure on the lower abdomen, frequent urination, pain during sex and in the lower back pain. They can also lead to problems with fertility.
Until recently the only surgical treatment options required a hospital stay, at least a week of recovery time and could leave the woman infertile. Because alternatives have been so drastic, many women have been prescribed a "wait and see" approach to see if they reach menopause without requiring surgery.
Fortunately, a new, noninvasive (incisionless) treatment option for uterine fibroids can have women back to their normal activities in one to two days.
The treatment, known as the ExAblate® 2000, uses Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) combined with highly-focused ultrasound to destroy the growths.
During the outpatient procedure, the patient lies on her stomach inside the MRI scanner. The scanner provides precise images of the fibroid and surrounding tissue to provide a clear target while also providing feedback to physicians.
Highly-focused ultrasound waves raise the temperature of the tissue to destroy the fibroid. Although patients do receive mild sedation, they remain conscious during the procedure so they can provide immediate feedback to physicians during the procedure.
Other treatment options include hysterectomy, myomectomy and uterine artery embolization, all in-patient procedures. Hysterectomy, or full removal of the uterus, requires a three- to four-day hospital stay and a recovery time of approximately six weeks.
Myomectomy, or the surgical removal of the fibroid, also requires a hospital stay of several days and a recovery time of two to four weeks. Uterine artery embolization (UAE) requires a day of hospitalization and a week of recovery time.
For many women this means valuable time taken away from work and family. An outpatient procedure also has the potential to be a more cost-effective therapy and lets women return to normal activity quickly.
© 2005 HealthNewsDigest.com