FIBROID (symptoms and treatment)

Uterine fibroids (leiomyomas) are benign (non-cancerous) tumors of the uterus that may grow in mass to several kilograms. Although the majority of uterine fibroids are symptomless, they may be associated with a wide variety of symptoms including:
Menstrual disturbances such as menorrhagia (heavy and prolonged periods), dysmenorrhea (painful periods) and intermenstrual bleeding (bleeding between periods)
Pressure symptoms (e.g. bloated sensation, increased urinary frequency, bowel disturbance).
Chronic pelvic pain and more rarely, acute pelvic pain.
More rarely, uterine fibroids may cause infertility and pregnancy-associated complications such as early pregnancy loss, preterm labor or fetal malpresentation.

There are three main types of fibroids:
Submucosal – these grow just underneath the inner uterine lining.
Intramural – these grow within the muscular wall of the uterus in between layers of muscle.
Subserosal – these grow on the outside of the uterus.

Fibroids may also grow on a stalk and extend into the pelvic cavity or uterine cavity – these fibroids are ‘pedunculated’. The image below demonstrates the Menstrual disturbances such as menorrhagia (heavy and prolonged periods), dysmenorrhea (painful periods) and intermenstrual bleeding (bleeding between periods)
Pressure symptoms (e.g. bloated sensation, increased urinary frequency, bowel disturbance).
Chronic pelvic pain and more rarely, acute pelvic pain.
More rarely, uterine fibroids may cause infertility and pregnancy-associated complications such as early pregnancy loss, preterm labor or fetal malpresentation.

There are three main types of fibroids:
Submucosal – these grow just underneath the inner uterine lining.
Intramural – these grow within the muscular wall of the uterus in between layers of muscle.
Subserosal – these grow on the outside of the uterus.

Fibroids may also grow on a stalk and extend into the pelvic cavity or uterine cavity – these fibroids are ‘pedunculated’. The image below demonstrates the major types of fibroids: