How big is a uterine fibroid? Is it considered serious? Do uterine fibroids need treatment?

How big is a female uterine fibroid considered serious? Generally, once a uterine fibroid is found, if it is less than 5CM, the doctor will recommend not to treat it first, or consider drug control and regular observation. If it is 5CM and the above symptoms are serious, you can consider combining drugs with physical therapy. If the uterine fibroid grows quickly, it needs to be treated in time, otherwise it may become cancerous when it grows up.

In fact, the size, location, and symptoms of uterine fibroids will affect the severity of the fibroids. Some very small uterine fibroids also require surgery if they grow in a bad location. For example, uterine fibroids that grow under the mucosa are sometimes only one or two centimeters, or even 0.5 centimeters, and need surgery because they can cause heavy bleeding under the mucosa.

So specifically, which types of uterine fibroids are more serious? Below we list several relatively serious types of uterine fibroids. It is very important for women with uterine fibroids to have a basic understanding of this.

1. Symptomatic uterine fibroids

Due to uterine fibroids, patients have heavy menstrual flow, long menstrual periods, and long-term excessive menstrual blood loss, which can lead to secondary anemia and even anemic heart disease. In severe cases, symptoms such as general fatigue, pale complexion, shortness of breath, and palpitations appear. This is more common in submucosal uterine fibroids and intramural uterine fibroids. In this case, it cannot be delayed at will. It is recommended that surgery is an effective treatment method at the right time, otherwise, it may be life-threatening.

Myoma compresses pelvic organs and causes corresponding symptoms: such as urinary urgency, frequent urination, or even difficulty urinating due to compression of the bladder; rectal irritation or even difficulty defecation due to compression of the rectum; low-lying myoma or cervical myoma or broad ligament myoma compresses the ureter and causes hydrops in the ureter and renal pelvis. Those who have pelvic organ compression symptoms do not necessarily have heavy menstrual flow or prolonged menstruation.

Generally speaking, surgical treatment should be considered once cervical fibroids, broad ligament fibroids, and submucosal fibroids are discovered.

2. Suspected malignant transformation of fibroids

The chance of uterine fibroids becoming malignant is very small, generally less than 1%. It is more common in older women with large and fast-growing fibroids, especially those with rapid growth of fibroids after menopause or reappearance of fibroids after menopause. Therefore, although most uterine fibroids shrink after menopause, they cannot be completely ignored and should still be checked regularly.

3. When the pedicle of subserosal fibroids is twisted

It often manifests as acute lower abdominal pain. If surgery is not performed in time, the necrotic myoma may be twisted and secondary infection may occur. In severe cases, it may cause septic shock and may also lead to intestinal adhesions, intestinal obstruction, etc.

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