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Uterine Fibroids
(GY017)

Introduction

Uterine leiomyomas, also known as myomas or fibroids, are benign growths within the uterus. It is thought that fibroids exist in 50-75% of women, however, fewer than half of these cause symptoms.

Fibroids are the most common tumors in the female pelvis and are responsible for one third to one half of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed in the U.S. each year.

Fibroids rarely become cancerous. In fact, it is thought to occur in no more than .1% of all fibroids. Uterine leiomyomas are not to be confused with leiomyosarcomas, which are malignant uterine tumors that usually affect post-menopausal women. The two conditions are totally unrelated.

The goals of care are the minimization of complications such as anemia, pain, and infertility while maintaining fertility in women who so desire.

Because most women have no symptoms, the majority are appropriately managed with observation alone. The subsequent worsening of symptoms or the development of other complications would warrant further consideration.

Treatment options include medications, radiologic procedures such as Uterine Artery Embolization and surgery.

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What Your Doctor Reads:

This MediFocus Guide contains an extensive listing of citations and abstracts of recent journal articles that have been published about this condition in trustworthy medical journals. This is the same type of information that is available to physicians and other health care professionals. A partial selection of journal articles that are abstracted in this MediFocus Guide includes:


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