For those women who do suffer from severe fibroids, there are three treatments. Doctors may remove the fibroid in a procedure called myomectomy, may perform a hysterectomy, or may choose fibroid embolization. Radiologist Kenneth Crystal of New York's St. Francis Hospital argues that the latter treatment is under-used. Crystal said that, despite the fact that risks from the procedure are few and results are consistent, very few doctors perform it and many gynecologists either aren't aware of it or don't recommend it. The non-surgical procedure works by blocking the fibroid's access to a blood supply, limiting the tumor's growth and eventually causing it to die.
Doctors block the blood flow by placing special particles in the targeted artery.
The patient remains conscious throughout the procedure. In each test, a control group of women who did not take oral contraceptives or HRT were monitored along with those who did. Oral contraceptive use also appeared to speed the metabolism of erythromycin, also the increase was not statistically significant. The metabolism of dextromethorphan was unaffected by oral contraceptive use. Women undergoing HRT did not metabolize the three drugs any differently than women who did not take hormones.