What to know about fibroids

-Obesity increases risk of fibroid in women – experts   Omoye is 38 years old. She had a fibroid surgery two years ago and has a large scar on her stomach. “I used to be very fat,” she said. “I developed fibroid and had to go for surgery. Since then I have been watching my […]

-Obesity increases risk of fibroid in women – experts

 

Omoye is 38 years old. She had a fibroid surgery two years ago and has a large scar on her stomach. “I used to be very fat,” she said. “I developed fibroid and had to go for surgery. Since then I have been watching my weight seriously because I want to stay healthy and don’t want the fibroid to come back,” she said.

Women who are obese are at high risk of developing fibroid, particularly those who are of child bearing age and  have never given birth, experts have said.

Medical  experts at New York State Department of  Health said obesity is associated with uterine fibroids. “The risk of obese women developing fibroids is 2-3 times greater than women of average weight,” the experts said.

A fibroid is a non-cancerous growth or tumor made up of mostly fibrous tissue, like muscle. Fibroids grow in or around the uterus (womb). They are the most common type of growth in a woman’s pelvic area (the pelvis is the bony structure at the bottom of the spine).

A woman may have one fibroid or many. A fibroid may be inside the uterus (submucosal), outside the uterus (subserosal), or in the wall of the uterus (intramural). Most fibroids grow in the wall of the uterus. Fibroids can also grow out from the uterus.

Uterine fibroids are common non-cancerous (benign) tumours of the uterus and are the most frequent reason for recommending a hysterectomy. They grow from the muscular wall of the uterus and are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue.

According to the experts, many women over 35 have fibroids, but usually have no symptoms, adding however that in some women, however, fibroids may cause heavy bleeding, pelvic discomfort and pain and occasionally exert pressure on other organs.

Dr. Victor Ohenhen, a Consultant Gynecologist and Obstetrician, said women suffering from obesity are at risk of fibroids because anything that causes excess estrogen may lead to  the  condition.

He added that black women seem to be more at risk as the condition is more  common in them than in other races.

Fibroid is the commonest benign tumour of the uterus, said Dr. Ohenhen who is also the Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Central Hospital, Benin.

He said about 20 percent of females have fibroid in their uterus by the age of 30 while 50 percent of them remain non-symptomatic but may be discovered through routine scan or during pelvic surgery.

The gynecologist said fibroid is a tumour made up of smooth muscle and connective tissue, noting that the  incident is high in the black race and commonly in women that have not delivered.

“The  cause of fibroid  still remains unclear but it arises from the neoplastic single muscle cell of myomitrum, in these, the stimulus for the initial change in neoplastic transformation is not known but the following have been implicated,” he said.

Dr. Ohenhen explained that the development could be hormonal because its growth is dependent on  hormones namely estrogens and progesterone

“This is why in pregnancy, because of the increase in hormones, there is an increase in its growth and it is common in the reproductive age group so the growth is fueled by hormones.”

While saying that preventing fibroid is a bit difficult because one cannot change race and hormones, the obstetrician however added that knowing the risk factor and avoiding them, such as avoiding obesity and trying as much as possible to give birth when one is in marriageable age helps.

Dr Ohenhen said treatment of fibroid is dependent on the symptoms because if a woman is non-symptomatic but able to give birth to the desired number of children and it is not disturbing her, and had no menstrual irregularities, she can leave with it.

“There are other categories who are symptomatic with their menstrual flow in excess and disturbs their daily living, that has to be treated,” he said.

He noted that the symptom presented by women depended on the location of the fibroid in the womb.

He said: “For those who  have infertility issues, removal of the fibroid may help in restoring fertility amongst other management modalities. But if it is not giving problems there is no need to remove it.

“It could also be removed through open surgery or using ultra sound method to shrink it. The use of drugs may reduce the size but it still needs to be operated because there  can be  rebound growth.

For people that are past child bearing and still having problems with fibroid,                        they  can do the open myomectomy or vaginal hysterectomy (a surgical procedure to remove the uterus through the vagina) depending on the size.

The medical expert advised women to avoid obesity and start child bearing early when married.