Understanding the Different Types of Fibroids (And What to Do About Them)

Uterine fibroids are growths in the womb that may affect up to 80% of women during their childbearing years. Fibroids often develop without the affected woman noticing because, in the majority of cases, they’re symptomless. At Modern OBGYN Care, we routinely find women have fibroids they knew nothing about when we perform diagnostic imaging procedures like ultrasound scans.

When fibroids do cause symptoms, the most likely are:

• Pelvic pressure
• Heavy and/or painful periods
• Longer and/or more frequent menstruation
• Swollen abdomen
• Pain during sex
• Constipation
• Stomach or lower back pain
• Frequent urination or other urinary problems

Talking about growths inside the uterus naturally sounds alarming, but uterine fibroids aren’t cancerous. It’s extremely rare for a fibroid to become a malignant tumor, and there’s no evidence to suggest that women with fibroids have a higher risk of uterine or endometrial cancer, either. So what are these growths, and what can you do about them?

Understanding fibroids

Fibroids or myomas typically arise between puberty and menopause — the years when women menstruate and conceive. Why fibroids develop isn’t clear, but it’s likely related to the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. Fibroids usually increase in size when the body produces more of these hormones (for example, during pregnancy) and shrink during perimenopause, when hormone levels decline.

Risk factors that could increase your chances of fibroids include:

• High body mass index (BMI)
• Menstruating early
• Family history of uterine fibroids
• Never being pregnant
• Late menopause

Some women have just one fibroid, while others have many. Fibroids can be small; jn some cases, they’re so small you can’t see them. Other fibroids can grow as large — sometimes larger — than a grapefruit. In the most severe cases, fibroids may fill the pelvic area and cause extensive abdominal swelling.

Demystifying fibroid types

The different types of fibroids are similar in many ways but are defined by specific characteristics like where or how they grow. The most common are intramural fibroids, which develop in the womb’s muscular wall. They can become large enough to stretch the uterus. Other types include:

Submucosal fibroids

Submucosal fibroids grow inside the womb’s middle muscle layer (myometrium). They’re one of the less common types.

Subserosal fibroids

Subserosal fibroids develop on the womb’s outside layer (serosa). They sometimes expand so much that the uterus looks larger on one side.

Pedunculated fibroids

Pedunculated fibroids are subserosal fibroids that develop a slender stem separating them from the womb.

Cervical fibroids

Cervical fibroids are rare and develop on the cervix, between the uterus and vagina.

Women who develop fibroid symptoms typically do so because the growths are large enough or positioned in such a way as to cause pressure and distortion.

Treatments for problematic fibroids

Our highly skilled OB/GYNs Dr. Marcela Torres and Dr. Miguel Torres offer several effective treatments for troublesome fibroids.  

We can prescribe medication or inject drugs to shrink your fibroids. Or we could use minimally invasive procedures like radiofrequency ablation or MRI-guided, focused ultrasound surgery (FUS) to destroy fibroids with heat and sound waves.

Myomectomy is surgery to remove uterine fibroids. Where possible, we perform minimally invasive laparoscopic myomectomy, where we remove the fibroids without making large incisions in your abdomen.

If you recognize the symptoms uterine fibroids can cause, call Modern OBGYN Care to discuss your concerns or arrange an evaluation. You can also use the form on our contact page to make an inquiry.