While many women will develop fibroids at some point during their childbearing years, most will not suffer from any uterine fibroids symptoms which means that these women will not even be aware that they have these benign (cancer free) tumors. A few other women will suffer from severe symptoms that will require medical attention including a hysterectomy.
Fibroids are tumors that grow within the walls of the uterus or can grow out from the uterus. Very rarely may they grow on the cervix. In a few cases these fibroid tumors fill the uterus entirely, push out through the cervix and appear in the vagina.
The uterine fibroids symptoms if experienced at all by a few women include a heavy and prolonged menstrual cycle, pelvic pain and pressure, backache, leg pains, constipation, frequent urination or problems urinating, etc.
Medical attention is usually required when the uterine fibroids symptoms that you suffer from include very severe bleeding from the vagina as well as a sudden sharp pain in the pelvic area.
Hysterectomy for Dealing with Uterine Fibroids Symptoms
While the majority of hysterectomies performed each year are usually performed as a result of symptomatic fibroids, this surgery is usually recommended as a last resort when all other treatment options fail if you suffer from severe uterine fibroids symptoms.
Most of these tumors rarely require medical intervention and are simply monitored periodically by a doctor. If however, they produce complications such as causing severe bleeding and pelvic pain, surgery may be recommended.
As a last resort, a hysterectomy is usually recommended for women that are past their childbearing years or women who have no desire to bear children. This is because a hysterectomy makes pregnancy impossible by the removal of the uterus which leads to the termination of monthly menstrual cycles as well as the ability to bear children.
A hysterectomy is usually recommended for symptomatic fibroids because without a uterus, no tumors can be produced. This surgical procedure gets rid of these tumors for good.
A total hysterectomy involves the removal of the entire uterus and the cervix. A partial hysterectomy which is rarely performed today involves the removal of the uterus while leaving the cervix intact.
When a hysterectomy is performed, the uterus is removed either through an incision in the abdomen or through the vagina. When the surgery is performed through the vagina, the top of the vagina is sewn back together after the surgery. Because there isn't an external incision, there is no scar and the healing time is usually shortened than if the procedure was performed through an incision in the abdomen.
Hysterectomies usually do not interfere with or reduce a woman's libido or the pleasure derived from sexual intercourse. It also does not lead to weight gain contrary to popular belief.
The disadvantages of hysterectomies include but are not limited to the inability to bear children, are very expensive and in some cases may lead to early menopause. You may also have to deal with scarring if performed though an abdominal incision.
