What are uterine fibroids?

What are uterine fibroids? Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors of the female reproductive system. They usually do not develop into malignant tumors, so patients do not need to worry too much. They are composed of smooth muscle and connective tissue. They are also called uterine leiomyoma and multiple uterine fibroids. They vary in size and may be as small as a pea or as big as a football. It is common in women aged 30-50, so people in this age group should pay enough attention to it.

According to the relationship between fibroids and the uterine muscle wall, they are divided into three categories:

1. Intramural fibroids: The fibroids are located within the muscle wall and are surrounded by the muscle layer. This type of fibroid is the most common when the disease first occurs, so it accounts for about 60-70%.

2. Subserosal fibroids: Intramural fibroids develop towards the serosa and protrude from the surface of the uterus, in direct contact with the serosa layer, accounting for about 20%. If it grows between the two leaves of the broad ligament, it is called an intra-broad ligament myoma.

3. Submucosal fibroids: Intramural fibroids grow into the uterine cavity, protrude into the uterine cavity, and are in direct contact with the mucosal layer, accounting for about 10%-15%. This tumor can cause the uterine cavity to gradually enlarge and deform, and is often connected to the uterus by a pedicle. If the pedicle is long, it can block the cervical opening or prolapse into the vagina.

The harm of uterine fibroids

Are uterine fibroids serious? What are the dangers of uterine fibroids? Most uterine fibroids have no obvious symptoms and are difficult to detect. If not treated in time, they can easily cause a variety of harms, such as infertility, miscarriage, induced gynecological inflammation, secondary anemia, etc. The main hazards of uterine fibroids are:

1. Infertility or miscarriage

If fibroid tissue appears in the uterine cornu, it may compress the entrance of the fallopian tube, preventing sperm from ascending to the fallopian tube and combining with the egg, thereby affecting conception; it may cause deformation of the uterus, hinder the implantation of the fertilized egg and hinder conception. Even if the fertilized egg has implanted, larger fibroids combined with pregnancy can easily cause miscarriage due to mechanical obstruction of embryonic development and uterine cavity infection.

2. Cause gynecological inflammation

Uterine fibroids can cause pelvic congestion and infection, among which the infection caused by fibroids is mostly caused by pedicle torsion. After infection, abscesses may form in the fibroid tissue of a few patients, and suppuration may occur. At the same time, pathogenic bacteria after fibroid infection can invade other nearby organs, causing gynecological diseases such as adnexitis and pelvic inflammatory disease.

3. Secondary anemia

Uterine fibroids can cause excessive menstrual bleeding in patients. Over time, patients will develop secondary anemia, manifested by symptoms such as general fatigue, pale complexion, palpitations and shortness of breath.

4. Malignant lesions

In a minority of women, malignant changes in uterine fibroids may turn into sarcomas, which can cause vaginal bleeding and lower abdominal pain. In late stages, the fibroids can spread through the bloodstream, directly spread, and metastasize to multiple parts of the body through the lymph nodes.