Although fibroids don t always complicate pregnancy, they can cause repeated miscarriage, premature labor or infertility. In many cases, fibroids are only treated when they cause symptoms, are large enough to disrupt future fertility or there is suspicion that they are not fibroids, but cancerous, a complication that occurs rarely. A physician will perform several diagnostic tests to determine the diagnosis. Besides noting the patient history, the diagnostic tests could include a pelvic examination, pelvic ultrasound, MRI and hysteroscopy, a thin telescope inserted through the cervix. Of the 500,000 to 600,000 hysterectomies performed annually in the U.S., about 30 percent are attributed to fibroids.
Today there are new treatment options for fibroids.
Treatment can be elective and hysterectomy is rarely the only option. Many of these new treatments remove the fibroids, but keep the uterus intact. Today s procedures can also be less invasive than hysterectomy and can be performed on an outpatient basis. Hysteroscopy can remove growths inside the uterine cavity. Myomectomy, removing fibroids from the uterus while saving the uterus itself, is a common treatment for symptomatic fibroids in women concerned about their ability to have children.