A women’s reproductive comprises of several different organs, viz:
- Uterus
- Fallopian tubes
- Ovaries
- Cervix
- Vagina
The uterus is responsible for the growth of the foetus and provides foetus, an environment suitable for its growth during the pregnancy. Due to certain unidentified reasons, you might develop fibroids (non-cancerous, benign tumor) in your uterine region that cause uneasiness in the surrounding areas and if the tumor is aggressive, it might affect other regions of your body, such as your bladder and your bowel.
If you have been experiencing any of the following symptoms, lately, you must immediately consult your doctor.
- Expansion of the lower abdomen
- Abnormally heavy menstrual bleeding
- Pain in the lower back
- Need to urinate again and again
- Complication during pregnancy
- Irregularity in menstrual cycle
- Pain during sex
These symptoms may or may not result into a fibroid but is better to get diagnosed before it is too late as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, it is better to get cured before the condition elevated to the next stage.
What causes fibroids?
The exact cause of the development of fibroids is still unidentified but doctors have come up with certain theories that might account for the development of fibroids.
The 4 different types of fibroids are:
- Intramural Myoma (smallest in size and only exists on the uterine wall)
- Subserosal Myoma (bigger than the intramural myoma)
- Submucosal Myoma (bigger that the subserosal myoma)
- Pedunculated uterine fibroid
All of these types of fibroids are classified on the basis of the size of the fibroid that can be extremely small or very large. Besides, the size, these fibroids differ in terms of sight as well. Large fibroids can be easily identified with naked eye, but the small ones are not that easy to identify. The small fibroids require some special kinds of tools so that they are visible.
Reasons behind the occurrence of fibroids
The exact cause of fibroids is still unknown but the doctors suggest the following might be responsible for the development of the fibroids.
- Abnormal changes in the genes
Sometimes, the transformation of genes takes place due to unknown reasons. Genes transform such that the multiplication rate of cells becomes excessively high, which results into a tumor.
- Hormonal imbalance
The human body is a composition of bones, muscles, organs and on top of all that, hormones. Hormones are the driving force of a human body and are responsible for its proper functioning. A slight fluctuation in the amount of hormones secreted can give rise to different diseases. A lot of health hazards like diabetes, PCOS, thyroid are a result of abnormal secretion of certain hormones. The female reproductive system is extremely sensitive and a slight rise or dip in the secretion of hormones can result into problems like fibroids.
There are several different approaches that can be used to get rid of fibroids. Earlier, the only approach was to remove the entire uterus by the process of hysterectomy, but nowadays we have access to advanced techniques and tools that assist the doctors in the surgery and are minimally invasive. Procedures like hysterectomy involve a lot of blood loss. In the process of hysterectomy, the entire uterus is removed, which leaves zero scope for having children in the future.
All of these drawbacks inspired the doctors to create much less invasive procedures with minimal blood loss. Open myomectomy is one example of such procedures. Open myomectomy is not entirely minimally invasive and bloodless, but it is better as compared to hysterectomy. Women who have fibroids and wish to have children in the future can go ahead with the option of open myomectomy, after they have consulted their doctor regarding the same.
Step by step open myomectomy procedure
Open myomectomy is also known as abdominal myomectomy because the surgery is carried out by making an incision in the abdominal region of the body.
If your doctor has diagnosed you with fibroids and has taken the decision of treating the fibroids by performing an open myomectomy, then this section will help you understand the entire procedure in detail. Self-awareness is a must and you should be aware of what’s going on inside your body and what is going to happen to your body.
Detailed procedure
- In the initial phase of the surgery, an abdominal incision is made across the abdomen. The incision made is of horizontal nature.
- After the incision has been carved, the top skin covering is pulled apart in order to uncover the abdominal muscles. To accomplish this, a retractor is used. After the skin is separated, you surgeon will be able to access your abdominal muscles.
- In the next stage, the plan is to access the uterus and cut out the fibroid. In order to accomplish that, another incision is made on the abdominal muscles which is vertical in nature. The surgeon goes via this incision and gets a better view at the uterus.
- After the uterus has been reached, along with the fibroids, the surgeon can now separate out the fibroids with ease. Forceps will be used to hold the fibroids and the uterus separately.
- In the next step, the tissue that is holding together the uterus and fibroid is removed with utmost care and the fibroid is removed. The tissue should be removed with extreme care so as to avoid any nerve damage.
- The last and the final step is the closure of incisions. This is done with the help of stitches. In the end, a sterile bandage is applied to the abdomen.
The procedure of open myomectomy involves certain risks and disadvantages, like:
- Blood loss: Unnecessary amount of blood loss. While the quantity of blood loss is less than hysterectomy but the patient still has some blood loss.
- Hysterectomy: A situation might arise where the whole uterus might be operated out. While performing open myomectomy, the need of hysterectomy might arise depending upon the size of the fibroid.
- The bladder and the bowel might get affected
To avoid the risk of excessive blood loss, bowel, liver and bladder damage, there are some other minimally invasive surgeries available, like Laparoscopic myomectomy and the Robotic myomectomy. In these procedures there is no blood loss as the procedure is carried out the vessel constriction and they require less recovery time. Both of these procedures involve making several holes or incisions in the abdomen and use them to operate out the fibroids. The multiple incisions are made so that the camera can be inserted via one of the incisions while the other can be used to pull out the fibroid tumor.
In case you have no other option than getting an open myomectomy, visit Apollo Cradle Motinagar. Apollo Cradle Motinagar specializes in cases like these and is known to deal with the most complicated situations and procedures. The facilities offered at Apollo Motinagar, are:
- Emergency care
- Your Stay
- Tertiary care, etc.
The hospital is known for delivering the best maternity and pediatric services. Besides, they are equipped with the most advanced instruments and technologies that allows them to perform the most complicated procedures with a lot of ease and the least possibility of complications and risks.
The hospital takes full responsibility of the surgery as well as the pre and post-surgical requirements such as the recovery. Though the recovery time varies from person to person, the hospital ensures that you are happy and sound during your recovery.
The doctors at the hospital are extremely skilled and experienced. Every technician and nurse at the hospital are hired in view to have a process in place and only the best of them are hired for the smooth sailing of the hospital as well as the patients. Unlike, most hospitals, Apollo Cradle Motinagar, don’t encourage the patients to get unnecessary tests. The tests prescribed by the doctors are only the necessary ones.
The focus of the hospital is to provide the experience and comfort to the incoming patients so that they do not leave empty handed.
Without a doubt, the recovery time differs from person to person. You can’t predict your recovery time by listening to someone else’s experience. Every person is built differently and recover, according to their body and immunity. Some people recover faster than the others, but that is not something you should be concerned or worried about. There is no need to stress about not being able to recover faster.
Let your body be your guide and let it recover at its own pace. You as a patient must insure that you take your doctor’s advice seriously and take the suggested measures and precautions.
By bringing some particular improvements in your lifestyle, you might be able to speed up the recovery process. These changes reflect directly on your health. The improvements involve:
- Having a decent routine
- Getting enough amount of rest
- Eating a balanced diet
- Practicing yoga and meditation to get rid of the anxiety and stress
- Increase the intake of liquid substances, etc.
You can ask your doctor, all about these details and he will suggest to you how to go about it and recover from the myomectomy smoothly.