Small uterine fibroids may not cause problems, but as they get larger, women can experience intense pelvic pain and heavy menstrual bleeding. Goke Akinwande, MD, and the team at Midwest Institute for Non-surgical Therapy (MINT) offer the first and only dedicated uterine fibroid center in St. Louis. They specialize in eliminating fibroids using uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally invasive option that preserves your uterus and delivers dramatic pain relief for at least 90% of women. If you need help for uterine fibroids, call one of the offices in St. Louis and Wentzville MO, & Swansea, IL, or book an appointment online today.
Uterine fibroids are noncancerous tumors that grow in the muscular layer of the uterine wall, inside the uterine cavity, and on the outside wall of the uterus. You can have just one fibroid or multiple fibroids, and they can be located in the same or different areas of the uterus.
Uterine fibroids can be so small they’re not detected during a uterine exam. They can also get so large that they cause intense symptoms. If you have multiple fibroids, they can all grow at different rates.
Once a uterine fibroid grows large enough to cause symptoms, you may experience:
These same symptoms may signal other gynecologic problems. If you haven’t already seen your gynecologist, consider scheduling an exam to determine the source of your symptoms.
If your fibroids don’t cause symptoms or you’re close to menopause, you may not need to get treatment. When the fibroid is large or causes symptoms, your treatment options include:
MINT offers uterine fibroid embolization as an option to surgery, especially a hysterectomy. More than 90% of women who choose uterine fibroid embolization achieve significant or complete symptom relief. And they get relief while preserving a healthy uterus.
Your provider at MINT begins your uterine fibroid embolization by making a pinhole cut and inserting a catheter into a blood vessel. Using real-time imaging, they guide the catheter to the artery providing blood to the fibroid.
Your provider releases tiny particles into the artery, where they stick together and stop blood from getting to the fibroid. Without blood, the fibroid shrinks and dies. If you have multiple uterine fibroids, the same procedure is repeated for the arteries delivering oxygenated blood to each fibroid.
The benefits of uterine fibroid embolization over surgery include:
If you need treatment for uterine fibroids, call Midwest Institute for Non-surgical Therapy or schedule an appointment online today.
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