Uterine Fibroid Treatment Options in Los Angeles, CA
Effective surgical and non-surgical uterine fibroid treatment options are available for women in Los Angeles, CA. Each uterine fibroid treatment option has distinct advantages, and in most cases, the question of one treatment versus another comes down to your specific situation and your preference.
Understanding your uterine fibroid treatment options is especially critical so you can confidently choose the treatment that makes the most sense for you. If you have any questions about your uterine fibroid treatment options, contact us!
Embolization (UFE)
Non-surgical
A vascular specialist occludes the blood vessels that feed the fibroids.
Invasiveness: Minimally invasive, performed with 1 small puncture
Hospital Stay: None
Recovery Time: 1 Week
Pregnancy Possible After: Yes
Risk of Fibroid Recurrence:
Less than 10% of cases at 2 years
Risk of Second Procedure:
~12% of cases at 2 years
Myomectomy
Surgical
A surgeon selectively cuts out the fibroids while keeping the uterus intact.
Invasiveness: Major surgery,
may require a blood transfusion
Hospital Stay: 1-3 days
depending on surgical technique
Recovery Time: 2-6 weeks depending on surgical technique
Pregnancy Possible After: Yes
Risk of Fibroid Recurrence:
Less than 10% of cases at 2 years
Risk of Second Procedure:
~8% of cases at 2 years
Hysterectomy
Surgical
A surgeon completely removes part or all of the uterus, taking the fibroids with it.
Invasiveness: Major surgery,
may require a blood transfusion
Hospital Stay: 1-3 days
depending on surgical technique
Recovery Time: 2-6 weeks depending on surgical technique
Pregnancy Possible After: No
Risk of Fibroid Recurrence:
None
Risk of Second Procedure:
~7% of cases at 2 years
Which Uterine Fibroids Treatment Option is Right For Me?
The three main uterine fibroid treatment options are: uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), myomectomy, and hysterectomy. All three are equally effective treatment options with respect to long-term fibroid symptom relief.¹ Given similar long-term outcomes, there are two critical questions that may help you weigh out your uterine fibroid treatment options:
Do you desire to preserve your fertility?
If yes, a hysterectomy is not the ideal uterine fibroid treatment option for you. Having children is still possible after a UFE or myomectomy procedure, but it is not possible after a hysterectomy.
Are you willing and able to undergo a major surgery that requires an extensive recovery period?
Because they are major surgeries, hysterectomy and myomectomy can require multiple days in the hospital and multiple weeks of recovery. Many women cannot afford to take this much time from work, or they prefer to keep their recovery as short as possible. Uterine fibroid embolization is the least invasive treatment option for fibroids, and therefore has the shortest recovery time.
Medical Treatment
Drugs such as progestogens (birth control) or Gn-RH agonists may be prescribed to women with uterine fibroids with the goal of suppressing bleeding symptoms and/or reducing fibroid size. While non-surgical fibroid medical treatment will not eliminate fibroids to the effect of interventional treatments (embolization, myomectomy), they may be used to help manage fibroid symptoms or as a pre-operative treatment to improve intervention outcomes.³
Other Uterine Fibroid Treatment Options
Myolysis and endometrial ablation are two additional treatment options that are less common, but may be offered to women with uterine fibroids. These treatments are limited in that they are not fertility-sparing, only help relieve bleeding symptoms, and do not address "bulk" symptoms (pelvic pressure, pelvic pain, frequent urination, etc.) caused by the presence of large fibroids.⁴
If you still have questions about your uterine fibroid treatment options, we go more in-depth in our treatment pages on uterine fibroid embolization, hysterectomy, and myomectomy; and provide even more information in our Fibroid Blog! You can also contact us directly to learn more. We would love to hear from you.
References
[1] Gupta et al. (2014). Uterine artery embolization for symptomatic uterine fibroids ( Review ). Cochrane Library, (5).
[2] Goodwin SC, Bradley LD, Lipman JC. UAE versus Myomectomy Study Group. Uterine artery embolisation versus myomectomy: a multicenter comparative study. Fertil Steril 2006;85:14–21.
[3] Faustino, F., Martinho, M., Reis, J., & Águas, F. (2017). Update on medical treatment of uterine fibroids. European Journal of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, 216, 61–68.
[4] Singh, S. S., & Belland, L. (2015). Contemporary management of uterine fibroids: focus on emerging medical treatments. Current Medical Research and Opinion, 31(1), 1–12.
[5] Davis, M. R., Soliman, A. M., Castelli-Haley, J., Snabes, M. C., & Surrey, E. S. (2018). Reintervention Rates After Myomectomy, Endometrial Ablation, and Uterine Artery Embolization for Patients with Uterine Fibroids. Journal of Women’s Health (2002), 27(10). https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/jwh.2017.6752