AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
'Myths' used to justify some fibroid surgeries. (Expert Opinion).
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. -- Too often the reasons physicians give for surgically removing uterine fibroids aren't based on fact, Dr. William H. Parker said at an international congress on uterine fibroids sponsored by the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists.
Surgical treatment is justified if the fibroid is significantly blocking a ureter or if a sarcoma is suspected, said Dr. Parker of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Removing fibroids helps women with recurrent hemorrhage, especially those who are chronically anemic. It's also legitimate when a patient chooses the surgery to improve quality of life by reducing bleeding, pain, a bulky appearance, or bladder and bowel symptoms associated with the fibroid. But Dr. Parker warned audience members to beware of six "myths" that are frequently used to justify fibroid surgery:
* The physician can't feel the ovaries. According to this line of thinking, if you can't physically examine the ovaries, you won't be able to detect ovarian cancer so why not do a hysterectomy and remove the ovaries to keep the patient safe?
In reality, Dr. Parker said, physicians fail to detect most ovarian cancers until late in the course of the disease, regardless of whether fibroids are present. It would be surgical overkill to perform hysterectomies on all women with fibroids whose ovaries can't be felt, such as women with tight abdominal muscles who would be extremely uncomfortable during physical examination of the ovaries. Instead, ultrasound should be used to examine the ovaries of these women, he suggested.
* A growing fibroid might be a sarcoma. As a resident Dr. Parker was taught that fibroids that grew enough in 1 year to increase uterine size by 6 weeks should be removed because they might be sarcomas. He never found a sarcoma in ...
- Uterine Fibroids
- Encyclopedia entry from: Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 3rd ed. Tuteur, Amy January 1, 2006 700+ words
...only real cure for fibroids. In fact, 25...because of symptomatic fibroids. By the time a woman has a hysterectomy for fibroids, she has usually...gynecologist can remove a fibroid uterus during either...surgical procedure many women choose if they are...
- Fibroids; Overview.
- Newspaper article from: NWHRC Health Center - Fibroids March 16, 2005 700+ words
...risks are lower in women who smoke and in women who have given birth...to suggest that fibroid growth is related...uncertain about why some women develop them and others don't. Fibroids usually grow slowly...that's when a woman's body no longer...
- Fibroids; Key Q&A.
- Newspaper article from: NWHRC Health Center - Fibroids March 16, 2005 700+ words
...reproductive-age women have uterine fibroids, many experience...hormones can make fibroids grow; should I avoid...have any effect on fibroid size. In fact, health...contraceptive pills for some women with fibroids to help control the...
- Fibroids; Diagnosis.
- Newspaper article from: NWHRC Health Center - Fibroids June 10, 2005 700+ words
...region. Most women with fibroids have an enlarged...location of one fibroid in particular...infections. Fibroids also are associated...depending on the fibroid's location...occur when fibroids physically...professionals recommend women with large...
- Fibroids: Are you getting the right Treatment?
- Magazine article from: Good Housekeeping Martin, Julia June 1, 1999 700+ words
...estrogen levels diminish, fibroids tend to shrink. What...Often none--many women only learn they have a fibroid during a routine checkup...doctor. Sometimes, if fibroids become large, they...bladder). And some women, like Di Mond, suffer...
- Fibroid tumors need not be treated.
- Newspaper article from: HealthFacts November 1, 1992 700+ words
...those women whose fibroids would never have...problems. * Large fibroids would interfere...in one study of women at high risk for...possibility that a fibroid may develop into...leiomyosarcoma. A woman's odds of dying...of symptomatic fibroids, noting that...in symptomless ...
- Uterine fibroid embolization: A minimally invasive alternative to hysterectomy
- Newspaper article from: SouthtownStar (Chicago, IL) July 21, 2009 700+ words
...treatment of uterine fibroids was hysterectomy...uterus or of a fibroid, respectively...Hysterectomy ends a woman's ability to...attractive option for women called uterine fibroid embolization...effective treatment for fibroids that results in...
- Fibroids; Facts to Know.
- Newspaper article from: NWHRC Health Center - Fibroids March 16, 2005 700+ words
...smokers and in women who have given birth. * Fibroids usually grow...At menopause, fibroids usually shrink...that's when a woman's body no longer...Half of the women who have fibroids never experience...location of one fibroid in particular...
Source: HighBeam Research, 'Myths' used to justify some fibroid surgeries. (Expert Opinion).