A wide age range of women including those in reproductive years have accepted uterine fibroid embolization as the best non-invasive method of treatment for fibroid removal in Chennai. The ability to have a baby after fibroid embolization depends on various factors such as patient age, efforts to conceive, past surgical or medical history, and other pertinent considerations. Higher rates of fertility are expected in a cohort of younger females trying to conceive. Fibroid embolization has always been superior in terms of symptom management and length of hospital stay, when compared to myomectomy for treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids. After recent findings, fibroid embolization has been declared as a safe and appropriate treatment for women of childbearing age. Fibroid embolization is also reported to have distinct advantages over fibroid surgeries such as myomectomy, for women with fibroids who wish to get pregnant after treatment.
Fibroid embolization preserves the uterus
Hysterectomy gives best relief from all symptoms of fibroids but it so does end any chances of having a baby. Surgeries to remove the fibroids, like myomectomy have the risk of causing uterine scarring that can impact the ability to conceive and carry a pregnancy to full term. The chances of a caesarean section needed to deliver the baby are high with a history of myomectomy. Fibroid embolization is a non-invasive, non-surgical, out-patient procedure that is performed under local anaesthetic and sedation with very quick recovery time, allowing patients to get back to work within few days. This quick treatment for fibroids is also very effective and safe in terms of achieving pregnancy because fibroid embolization does not involve a surgical procedure, that poses chances of scarring or other damage to the uterus that can affect fertility. Embolization is the only procedure that preserves the uterus and leaves it unscarred, ready for future pregnancy. Other treatments can achieve similar effective results in relieving symptoms, but with much longer and more painful recoveries as well as risks to future fertility.
Fibroid embolization does not affect future pregnancy
Till some time ago, myomectomy was considered as the only surgical option for treating fibroids in women desiring future pregnancy. Fibroid embolization is now accepted as an alternative for managing symptomatic uterine fibroids, not affecting future pregnancy or fertility. Fibroid embolization was first described in 1995 as a radiologic procedure that uses angiography to catheterize uterine arteries. Tiny particles of a chemical composition that act as embolic agents are injected into the arteries that branches out to the fibroids. These tiny spheres block the arteries to cut off blood supply and thereby decrease perfusion of blood to uterine fibroids. The fibroids eventually shrink and die without blood supply, successfully reducing bleeding, eliminating pain and other symptoms of fibroids. This technique has been found to result in shrinking of fibroids in 90% of cases with 80% to 90% improvement in menorrhagia. Fibroid Embolization was not initially designed to address reproductive outcomes in women with fibroids but with time, there are post embolization insights that demonstrate the ability of women to conceive and carry a pregnancy successfully to term. However, as with any invasive procedure, fibroid embolization carries some risk that may include post embolization syndrome characterised by pain, general malaise, nausea, vomiting, low-grade fever and leucocytosis that usually resolves within 48 hours, risks of infection, ovarian dysfunction, transient or permanent amenorrhea, pain, need for hysterectomy and inadvertent embolization of a malignancy. Risks that can affect the ability to have a baby can be minimized through careful patient selection and consultation with best gynaecologist for fibroids removal in Chennai.
Fibroid Embolization has 0% incidence of fibroid regrowth
Fibroid embolization is a technique very effective to treat fibroids. A large number of fibroids in a woman’s uterus, including very small nodules that may not be visible during investigations can be eliminated by fibroid embolization. This treatment is administered through a minimally invasive catheterization procedure that shuts off blood supply permanently to fibroids. As a result, scientific studies have demonstrated that women’s fibroids have very minimal chances to grow back after fibroid embolization. Whereas, fibroids tend to grow back after myomectomy, the most common surgery adopted to remove fibroids from the uterus. Myomectomy offers approximately six months as the window period for the woman with desires to conceive to avail this time period as the opportunity to achieve pregnancy because fibroids tend to grow back after such time. Fibroid recurrence is experienced within a year by 50% of all women who have undergone myomectomy, leaving only a short time to try for a child after a myomectomy. In comparison, fibroid embolization has 0% incidence of fibroid regrowth, the possibility for pregnancy being extended over a longer period that allows pregnancy whenever desired, rather than race against time, unless it is restricted by other factors such as age related normal decline of ovarian reserves.
Fibroid embolization does not diminish ovarian reserve
Ovarian reserve is a medical term that denotes the quantity of good quality eggs available for fertilization. 20 years ago, it was suggested from a study that fibroid embolization affects ovarian reserve. But the study involved a group of women with an average age of 45 years when ovarian reserve is naturally on a decline, making fertility a problem. Thus, it does not make sense to arrive at findings that fibroid embolization negatively affects ovarian reserve from the study conducted on women whose chances of fertility is already compromised due to their age. Latest medical knowledge and clinical experience are confirming that more and more women consider fibroid embolization as the best alternative to fibroid removal surgery in Chennai to have successful future pregnancies. Women with fibroid related fertility issues in an age suitable for good ovarian reserve, conceived and had babies successfully. This was further supported by a study that was published in the medical journal, minimally Invasive Therapy and Technology, non-surgical advances, where ovarian reserves in fibroid patients were investigated after embolization. The study results indicated that fibroid embolization did not diminish ovarian reserve, in fact, improved ovarian reserve in some women.
