British Fibroid Trust Woman2Woman Fibroid Support Fibroids: Patient Guide
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Treatment Options Summary
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In most cases, fibroids do not cause any symptoms and do not interfere with pregnancy and therefore no treatment is required.
In case of mild symptoms, the gynaecologist may consider no treatment but to monitor to see if they are growing.
Treatment is only warranted when the fibroids are large which interfere with pregnancy or fertility and cause symptoms.
The choice of treatment is highly individual and tailored to individual circumstances. There are important factors (see table) that you must consider and convey clearly to your gynaecologist so that in consultation you and him/her can agree on an appropriate treatment. They include questions below:
  • Have you any symptoms?
  • Do you want to become pregnant?
  • Your age, e.g. are you near menopausal age?
  • What is the size of the fibroid(s)
  • Location of the fibroid(s).
In principles, a particular chosen treatment aims to achieve either [1] or [2], and in most cases (most women's wishes) both of the followings:
  1. The management of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) which relieves symptoms of menorrhagia, anaemia, pelvic pressure effects (renal tract-urethra, bladder) and pelvic pain.
  2. An attempt to improve fertility (reducing the risk of miscarriage).
Available treatment options for fibroids are summarised in the table below and the choice is mainly governed by the woman's fertility wishes:
Treatment Options For Fibroids
Size of fibroids Outcome of fertility Treatment
Less than 3 cm Non-Contraceptive NSAIDs and Tranexamic Acid
Contraceptive Hormonal Medical Therapy (contraception is temporary until discontinuation of the treatment)
Endometrial Ablation (for women who do not response to medical therapy and have uterus size of less than 10 weeks pregnancy).
Greater than 3 cm Fertility Preserved Myomectomy (Abdominal, Hysteroscopic, Vaginal, Laparoscopic)
Fertility Potentially Retained Uterine Artery Embolisation
MR Guided Focused Ultrasound Therapy
Contraceptive Myolysis or Cryomyolysis (Not yet approved by NICE and highly experimental)
Hysterectomy

Author: Dr Nicki On, PhD, MRPharmS.
The information on this page has been peer-reviewed by
Dr Rajesh Varma, MA, PhD, MRCOG. Dept of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London SE1 7EH, UK.

DISCLAIMER
This website provides primarily information which is intended for educational purpose only. All contents within British Fibroid Trust should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or gynaecologist or any other health care professional.
Medical decisions must be made in consultation with a qualified gynaecologist or specialist based on a complete medical history, physical examination and diagnostic results.
British Fibroid Trust is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of our website.
The British Fibroid Trust is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advertised on any of the external sites. Always consult your own doctor if you're in any way concerned about your health.

Copyright © 2008 by Dr Nicki On for the British Fibroid Trust.
The above information can be reproduced freely for non-profit education purposes or as part of a public awareness initiative. Reproduction rights refer only to text. Logos, symbols, photographs, and any other graphical material which may not be used or reproduced without permission unless explicitly stated in the source document.

This page was last modified on Monday 1 February 2021 11:57 am.
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