Medical Treatment:

1. Use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents are used primarily for pain relief
2. Hormonal therapy, such as birth control pills and GnRH analogs, help control the female hormone levels which fibroids are very sensitive to. The GnRH analogs can shrink fibroids after 3 months of treatment by approximately 50 percent. Unfortunately they have side effects including hot flashes (seen in 75%), osteoporosis and increased serum cholesterol levels.

1. Hysterectomy is most commonly performed in this country for fibroid disease. This procedure removes the entire uterus from the pelvis either through the abdomen or through the vagina. It requires general anesthesia, a hospital stay of about a week and can have a six-week recovery time.
2. Myomectomy is done to preserve the uterine tissue and to remove only the fibroid. This procedure is performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. This can weaken the uterine wall causing future pregnancies to be delivered by caesarean section. Investigators have shown a 40% fertility rate after myomectomy and the recurrence of fibroids are common.

This procedure is performed by an Interventional Radiologist who is specially trained in the endovascular therapy of fibroid disease. This procedure is minimally invasive and is performed in an angiography suite in the hospital with local anesthesia and intravenous sedation. In most cases patients can go home the same or next day and are back at work in one to two weeks.