Uterine Fibroids: The Complete Guide

by Elizabeth A. Stewart MD

Overview

Providing the most reliable and up-to-date information on this very common and difficult disorder, Dr. Stewart helps women understand uterine fibroids and make the best possible choices about their care.

You've called in sick today. Your back and legs hurt. Your abdomen is bloated and more than a little uncomfortable. You are having your period, and the bleeding is so heavy you can't even think about leaving the house. You have uterine fibroids.

One in every four women see their lives affected by uterine fibroids, which can cause heavy bleeding, abdominal bloating, pain, and infertility. The symptoms can be mildly annoying or life altering in severity. Until recently, hysterectomy was the only way to cure fibroids, and each year more than 200,000 hysterectomies are performed in the United States to treat these noncancerous growths.

But hysterectomy isn’t always the best solution. The procedure can be devastating for women who were planning to get pregnant, and it is a significant surgery for anyone. In this comprehensive and compassionate guide, Dr. Elizabeth A. Stewart helps women understand the treatment options now available.

An internationally recognized expert on fibroids, Dr. Stewart describes all the available medical and surgical treatments as well as alternative and complementary therapies. In addition to hysterectomy, she explains uterine artery embolization (UAE), noninvasive focused ultrasound (FUS), and innovative hormone treatments. Simple diagrams and photographs illustrate the condition—and its treatment.

Dr. Stewart encourages women with fibroids to learn as much as they can before choosing a treatment plan. Providing the most reliable and up-to-date information on this very common and difficult disorder, she helps women understand uterine fibroids and make the best possible choices about their care.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801887017
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2007
Series:	A Johns Hopkins Press Health Book
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.63(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth A. Stewart, M.D., is a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part I. About Fibroids
Chapter 1. Who Gets Fibroids, and What Are the Symptoms?
Chapter 2. What Are Uterine Fibroids?
Chapter 3. Why We Are So Far Behind in Understaning and Treating Fibroids
Chapter 4. The Endocrinology of the Uterus
Chapter 5. Why Do Fibroids Form?
Chapter 6. Diagnosis: How Do I Know That I Have Fibroids?
Chapter 7. What Firboids Come Back
Part II. Surgical Treatment
Chapter 8. Surgery Inside the Uterus: Hysteroscopic Myomectomy, Endometrial Ablation, and Vaginal Myomectomy
Chapter 9. Laparoscopic Myomectomy and Myolysis
Chapter 10. Abdominal Myomectomy
Chapter 11. Uterine Artery Embolization
Chapter 12. Focused Ultrasound Surgery and Other Thermoablative Therapies
Chapter 13. Hysterectomy
Part III. Medical Treatment
Chapter 14. Tradtional Hormonal Therapies: Birth Control Pills and Progestin
Chapter 15. GnRH Agonists, Add-Back Therapies, and GnRH Antagonists
Chapter 16. Innovative Medical Strategies for Treating Uterine Fibroids
Part IV. Other Factors, Other Conditions
Chapter 17. The Genetics of Fibroids
Chapter 18. Pregnancy, Infertility, and Miscarriage
Chapter 19. Adenomyosis and Endometrial Polyps
Chapter 20. Uterine Cancers
Chapter 21. Alternative and Complementary Therapies
Chapter 23. What Can We Do about Firbroids?
Appendix: Hints for Surgical Recovery
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Jacqueline Ogutha, MD (Washington University School of Medicine)
Description: This is a well written resource on uterine fibroids, full of scientific data, hypotheses about their etiology, and available treatment options. Figures and pictures help readers understand some of the more complicated concepts.
Purpose: According to the author, the purpose is to educate women about fibroids and enable them to become more active participants in the decision-making process regarding treatment options. These objectives are certainly worthy given that upwards of 20 million women have fibroids.
Audience: As the introduction states, this book is written for the woman with uterine fibroids who would like to be better informed about her diagnosis and treatment options. However, the first several chapters read like a gynecology text book. Chapter 4, on the endocrinology of the uterus, contains a fairly detailed discussion of receptors, growth factors, and second messenger systems that may be challenging for readers with no previous exposure to biochemistry. The author has published articles on fibroids and has years of clinical experience.
Features: After an overview of the biology of fibroids and surgical and medical management, the book makes a case for more rigorous scientific inquiry into the genetics of fibroids. The chapters on surgical treatment are especially well written and clearly describe all the available options. The appendix, "Hints for Surgical Recovery," is a thoughtful addition to the book and will be appreciated by any patient contemplating surgery.
Assessment: This book is a comprehensive account of uterine fibroids for the motivated patient. Although the amount of scientific detail may be overwhelming for those without a background in the sciences, it is balanced by illustrations, photographs, and a clear writing style that make the book easy to read overall.

Doody's Review Service

This exceptionally well-written book is easy to read (estimated 9th grade reading level) and helpful to women wishing to understand fibroids and make health decisions. . . Highly recommended.
—Nancy Crossfield, Consumer Connection

Dr. Stewart offers practical, down-to-earth advice about when to seek treatment and which choice may be optimal in a given situation.
—American Journal for Nurse Practitioners

A heavily referenced work recommended . . . for comprehensive consumer-health collections and large public libraries.
—Library Journal

Addresses the newest research into fibroids and their treatment.
—Rebecca Traister, Salon

This book is a comprehensive account of uterine fibroids for the motivated patient.
—Doody's Review Service

Readers are unlikely to find many 'here is what you should do' answers. Rather, one will walk away with greater insight, recommendations on how one might proceed and likely more questions than when one began. Uterine Fibroids: The Complete Guide is a must-read for every woman and should be on the reading list of all medics.
—Mohammad Sami Walid, M.D., Ph.D., Journal of the National Medical Association

Very readable. I think that most patients and even some medical staff, will find this book very informative and helpful.
—Elizabeth E. Puscheck, American Society for Reproductive Medicine

From the Publisher

This exceptionally well-written book is easy to read (estimated 9th grade reading level) and helpful to women wishing to understand fibroids and make health decisions. . . Highly recommended.

Consumer Connection - Nancy Crossfield

Readers are unlikely to find many 'here is what you should do' answers. Rather, one will walk away with greater insight, recommendations on how one might proceed and likely more questions than when one began. Uterine Fibroids: The Complete Guide is a must-read for every woman and should be on the reading list of all medics.

Journal of the National Medical Association - Mohammad Sami Walid

Readers are unlikely to find many 'here is what you should do' answers. Rather, one will walk away with greater insight, recommendations on how one might proceed and likely more questions than when one began. Uterine Fibroids: The Complete Guide is a must-read for every woman and should be on the reading list of all medics.

— Mohammad Sami Walid, M.D., Ph.D.

Journal of the National Medical Association

This exceptionally well-written book is easy to read (estimated 9th grade reading level) and helpful to women wishing to understand fibroids and make health decisions... Highly recommended.

— Nancy Crossfield

Consumer Connection

Addresses the newest research into fibroids and their treatment.

— Rebecca Traister

Salon

"Very readable. I think that most patients and even some medical staff, will find this book very informative and helpful."

American Society for Reproductive Medicine - Elizabeth E. Puscheck

"Addresses the newest research into fibroids and their treatment."

Salon - Rebecca Traister

"Dr. Stewart offers practical, down-to-earth advice about when to seek treatment and which choice may be optimal in a given situation."

American Journal for Nurse Practitioners

Stewart, a recognized expert on uterine fibroids, presents in varying detail what is known about the causes of and treatment for these benign, smooth muscle knots that can affect fertility and menstrual flow (an estimated 23 million women could be afflicted) and encourages patients to partner with their physicians to choose an individualized treatment plan. The descriptions of the underlying biology and surgical treatments (involving various excisions and targeted injections) are thorough and current, but they are written at a college level and include many undefined medical terms. Conversely, the chapters on medical treatment options (e.g., hormones, steroids, and other drugs) are slightly more accessible, as are those covering such factors and conditions as genetics, pregnancy, and uterine cancers. The addition of simpler diagrams, a glossary, augmentations like tables, and plain-English summaries would have been helpful. The only other current title in this area, Scott C. Goodwin, Michael Broder, and David Drum's unillustrated What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibroids, features less depth but more breadth, covering also complementary medicine and healthy lifestyles. A heavily referenced work recommended only for comprehensive consumer-health collections and large public libraries. (Index not seen.)
—Janice Flahiff

Library Journal