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469.294.5589 DALLAS
If you’ve been diagnosed with uterine fibroids and are experiencing disruptive symptoms, you’re likely seeking relief.When it comes to choosing between fibroid treatment options, you may be confused. Choices range from watchful waiting to surgery, and Uterine Fibroid Embolization. And, depending on the size and location of your fibroids, you may wish to start with the least invasive treatment, choosing other options if you need further relief.
Of course, with so many available treatment options, you may wonder, what’s the best fibroid treatment? Well, you’re not alone. As it turns out, researchers are trying to answer that question right now. So, here’s what you need to know.
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Dr. Erika Moore, an assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Maryland, received a fibroids diagnosis in 2023, after experiencing symptoms like bloating and passing blood clots during her period. Immediately, she recalls asking her doctors, “‘OK, where’s the pill?’ and they were like, ‘There is no pill.’” recalled Moore. Absent surgery, there was nothing doctors could do. Unsatisfied with that answer, Moore decided to try and find a better way forward, providing women with more fibroid treatment options.
To that end, she worked with another doctoral student to engineer living fibroids in a lab. Next, they infused the tumors with chemicals, hoping to halt fibroid growth. And, according to halt research published in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering Journal, their initial efforts were successful—albeit with some drawbacks.
In the lab, Moore used a molecule called SB431542—and it did block fibroid growth. However, the chemical also damaged the simulated uterine tissue, suggesting this therapeutic option would not be entirely safe. Now, Moore and her partner are experimenting with different molecules, like the ones found in green tea, that could preserve uterine tissue while stopping fibroid growth.
Already, people in the fibroid community are taking notice. Fibroid Foundation CEO Sateria Venable says, “Erika’s research is groundbreaking. It fulfills a huge need in understanding the actual dynamics of what’s growing and the environment in which it grows.” With these findings, people are hopeful that we can eventually determine the exact best fibroid treatment.
As of now, there is no magic bullet compound to stop fibroid growth while preserving the uterus. For that reason, many women are told that symptomatic fibroids can only be relieved with surgery: either a myomectomy, a procedure that removes individual tumors, or a hysterectomy—an invasive surgery that removes your entire uterus, immediately inducing menopause. However, there are a range of other treatments that can help you find symptom relief or shrink your tumors. Here are some options to consider.
If your fibroids are asymptomatic and small, you may avoid treatment altogether, unless you wish to become pregnant in the near future. During that time, you may also decide to make changes to your exercise routine and your diet, in order to lower estrogen levels and reduce the risk of fibroid growth. These are some of the best and worst foods to eat with fibroids.
Some women's preferred fibroids treatment options include medications that block hormone production, inducing medical menopause. However, while this treatment can reduce fibroid symptoms, it will also trigger new ones, as former ER star Julianna Margulies recently revealed to Women’s Health magazine. When she was 28, her doctors prescribed Lupron to manage her fibroid symptoms, but while on that medication shes says, “I would be on the set of ER and I would literally sweat all my makeup off. The night sweats were to the point where I would have to change my sheets, put towels down, change my pajamas. I could not believe what I was in store for."
If medical menopause is too extreme an option for you, medications such as hormonal birth control can provide relief from symptoms such as heavy periods. Still, they won’t shrink fibroids, and the relief will likely end once you stop taking contraceptives.
Now, there is another treatment option: UFE, or Uterine Fibroid Embolization. This procedure is minimally invasive; our Texas fibroid specialists insert a catheter and guide it to your uterine artery via ultrasound imaging. Next, they inject embolic material that blocks blood flow. In the weeks and months that follow, your fibroid tumors shrink gradually, starved of their nutrition. Our interventional radiologists believe that UFE is one of the best fibroid treatment options because it offers a more affordable, less invasive alternative to surgery. However, you'll need to review your UFE candidacy with one of our specialists before choosing this treatment option.
Some women may elect to undergo a myomectomy (the surgical removal of individual tumors), or a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus.) But you may be able to avoid an invasive surgery—along with hospital stays an extend recovery and potential complications—by choosing one of the less invasive fibroid treatment options highlighted above. Need more guidance picking your best pathway to relief? Request a consultation at one of our seven Texas Endovascular locations, to see if you’re a good candidate for UFE treatment.
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