How to Manage the Stress of Having Uterine Fibroids
Feeling overwhelmed by fibroid symptoms? We’ve got your back. This month, we’re sharing four practical ways to manage stress and how fibroid treatment options can help.
Beyond Surgery: How UFE Preserves Your Reproductive Options
If you have fibroids and still want the option of pregnancy in the future, your treatment options can feel complicated fast. You want relief from heavy bleeding, pelvic pressure, cramping, and fatigue, but you also don’t want to close the door on your reproductive goals.
That’s where uterine fibroid embolization, or UFE, comes into the picture. UFE can give you relief from fibroid symptoms and preserve your reproductive options at the same time, and it’s a treatment option available at Fresno Fibroid Center.
Below, our team explains what UFE is and how it can preserve your reproductive options.
Why traditional surgery can feel like a big decision
Some fibroid treatments involve surgery, and the right choice depends on your symptoms, fibroid size, fibroid location, age, medical history, and future pregnancy goals.
Sort through many different surgical options
A hysterectomy removes your uterus completely. It ends fibroid symptoms, but it also makes pregnancy impossible. It’s usually the last option for fibroids, but still, 33% of all hysterectomies are done because of fibroids.
A myomectomy removes fibroids while leaving your uterus in place, but it’s still surgery and may involve a hospital stay, longer recovery, scarring, and the possibility that other fibroids can return.
Ask the right questions
When you’re considering fibroid treatment, surgery can feel like a major decision. Many of our patients want to know not only how to treat their fibroids, but how to do it without limiting future options they may still want.
How UFE works
UFE treats your fibroids by blocking the blood flow that feeds them. During the procedure, your Fresno Fibroid Center specialist inserts a thin catheter through a small incision in the radial artery in your left wrist.
Sometimes, UFE can be done through an incision in your groin, but we specialize in the trans-radial access (your wrist) because it has even fewer complications than groin access.
Using image guidance, we guide the catheter to the uterine arteries and release tiny particles that block the blood supply to the fibroids. Without that blood supply, your fibroids shrink. As they shrink, symptoms like heavy bleeding, pelvic pressure, bloating, and pain often improve.
The best part? UFE is performed without a large abdominal incision, which means your recovery is typically shorter than traditional surgery.
How UFE preserves your uterus
The biggest difference (and the most important one for women who still want to grow their family) between UFE and hysterectomy is simple: UFE doesn’t remove your uterus.
For women who aren’t emotionally, physically, or reproductively ready for a hysterectomy, UFE can give you another way forward.
What about pregnancy after UFE?
Can you get pregnant after having a UFE? Yes!
The fertility rate after UFE is estimated to be 38.3%. A fertility rate after UFE of 38.3% usually means that, among women in the study who tried to become pregnant after their UFE, about 38 out of 100 achieved pregnancy at some point.
While pregnancy after UFE is possible, it’s important to discuss your family planning goals with Dr. Benjamin Pruett, Dr. Sean Tower, Dr. Brian Ng, and Dr. Ashkan Behzadi before choosing your treatment.
Your individual fertility depends on several factors, including your age, ovarian reserve, fibroid size and location, uterine health, and whether other fertility issues are at play. For example, removing a fibroid may help remove fibroid symptoms, but if your fallopian tubes are scarred/damaged (another common cause of infertility), UFE won’t address that aspect of fertility.
UFE may be a good option for some women who want to preserve reproductive options, but it’s not automatically the best choice for every woman actively trying to conceive. For example, UFE isn’t recommended if you have active endometriosis.
During your consultation, our care team can help you compare UFE with other options, including myomectomy, and discuss what makes the most sense for your goals.
Should you consider UFE?
You may be a candidate for UFE if fibroids are causing symptoms such as heavy periods, pelvic pressure, frequent urination, bloating, painful periods, or anemia from blood loss.
UFE may be especially worth discussing if you want to avoid hysterectomy, prefer a minimally invasive approach, or want to preserve your uterus.
Relief without closing doors
Fibroid treatment shouldn’t feel like an all-or-nothing decision, and our team can help you find the treatment that helps you reach all of your goals, including symptom relief and family planning.
To learn more, schedule a consultation with Fresno Fibroid Center and find out whether UFE is right for you. Or, simply call us at 559-216-0746.
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