Hysterectomy Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Kentucky Now to Offer Incisionless Procedure for Uterine Fibroid Relief

The AHA! Team — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 08:41:48 +0000

University of Kentucky via Newswise – UK HealthCare is the first in the state to offer the innovative Sonata® Treatment for women suffering from debilitating symptoms caused by uterine fibroids, including heavy periods.. Fibroids are benign growths in or around the uterus. They are very common in women of child-bearing age and can range in size from a grape to a grapefruit. Nearly 3 out of 4 women in the United States will have uterine fibroids before the age of 50. Not all fibroids require treatment, but symptoms often include heavy menstrual bleeding and painful periods that interfere with daily activities. These symptoms may worsen over time if left untreated. Nearly 3 out of 4 women in the United States will have uterine fibroids before the age of 50 “Fibroids are the most common solid pelvic tumor in women, up to two-thirds of women will have one or more fibroids before menopause, and many are symptomatic,” said Mark R. Hoffman, M.D., chief of the Division of Minimally-Invasive Gynecologic Surgery in the UK College of Medicine and an OB-GYN at UK HealthCare. “We see hundreds of patients with fibroids every year in our Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery clinic every year.” According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 200,000 women each year are treated for uterine fibroids with the most common and surgical solution, a hysterectomy, which is a significant surgical procedure to remove the entire uterus. Traditionally, fibroids are treated with minimally invasive procedures such as hysterectomy or myomectomy, but a new, less invasive procedure may be an option for those seeking relief. Transcervical fibroid ablation (TFA) is a less invasive alternative to a hysterectomy or myomectomy. The fibroids are treated inside the uterus, so there are no incisions or scars. The Sonata® System, used in TFA, combines real-time ultrasound imaging with targeted radiofrequency ablation. One by one, the fibroids are targeted and reduced in size, preserving the healthy uterine tissue and providing quick, long-lasting relief. In a clinical trial, the Sonata Treatment was proven to reduce symptoms while getting half of the treated women back to their normal activities the next day. Average return to activity was two days. TFA can be used to treat almost all symptomatic uterine fibroids. This brief, outpatient procedure preserves the uterus and does not require an incision or anesthesia. Patients can return to work and activities in days, not weeks; much sooner than with traditional surgical procedures. More than 200,000 women each year are treated for uterine fibroids “This is a new, novel procedure that provides an alternative to hysterectomy, is outpatient with a same day discharge and has minimal recovery,” said Hoffman. “Patients can be back to full activity in a matter of a few days.” For more information about the Sonata® System and uterine fibroid relief, contact the UK HealthCare Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic and schedule an appointment with one of the following providers: UK HealthCare is the hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky. But it is so much more. It is more than 10,000 dedicated health care professionals committed to providing advanced subspecialty care for the most critically injured and ill patients from the Commonwealth and beyond. It also is the home of the state’s only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center, a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that cares for the tiniest and sickest newborns, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center and Kentucky’s top hospital ranked by U.S. News & World Report. As an academic research institution, we are continuously pursuing the next generation of cures, treatments, protocols and policies. Our discoveries have the potential to change what’s medically possible within our lifetimes. Our educators and thought leaders are transforming the health care landscape as our six health professions colleges teach the next generation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals, spreading the highest standards of care. UK HealthCare is the power of advanced medicine committed to creating a healthier Kentucky, now and for generations to come. To read the original article click here.

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Is Soy Harmful, Harmless, or Helpful for Fibroids?

AHA Publisher — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 07:00:07 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – When it comes to uterine fibroids, is soy harmful, harmless, or helpful? About one in four women will eventually suffer from fibroids, most commonly manifesting as excessively heavy periods, pain, or pressure. Why might you feel pressure? Because, as you can see at 0:17 in my video Should Women with Fibroids Avoid Soy?, you may be carrying around 26 pounds of tumors in your uterus. Fibroids are the most common reason women get hysterectomies, the complete removal of the uterus, a major surgery “associated with disability and death.” All surgery carries risk, though, and the chances of dying within a month of hysterectomy surgery may only be about 1 in 1,200, which makes it among our safest surgeries. As you can see at 0:40 in my video, getting your uterus removed is safer than getting your gallbladder removed, for example. But, of course, you lose the ability to bear children with a hysterectomy, and in total these surgeries cost billions of dollars a year. Yet, despite the high prevalence of fibroids, significant pain and suffering, and huge economic impact, relatively little is understood about the cause and disease process that lead to fibroid tumors. In terms of decreasing fibroids risk, it’s probably a good idea to avoid atomic bomb blasts whenever you can, but what about more easily modifiable risk factors? Consumption of alcohol, particularly beer, is associated with increased risk. Whenever beer is implicated, you may think about the hormonal effects specific to beer, particularly the powerful phytoestrogen found in hops, an essential ingredient in beer. If that phytoestrogen is increasing fibroids risk, what about the phytoestrogens in soy? The Black Women’s Health Study looked into this. Fibroids are two to three times more prevalent among Black women, so it was thought that dairy intake might be contributing to the disparity, given Black women’s higher levels of lactose intolerance. Indeed, dairy consumption was associated with reduced risk, perhaps, thought researchers, because of the calcium or vitamin D content. Was it possible the women were drinking soy milk instead, and that was increasing their fibroid risk? No. Soy intake was found to be unrelated. The same was found in a group of predominantly white women, though researchers did note a protective association with the amount of lignans flowing through their bodies. Lignans are another class of phytoestrogens found predominantly in flaxseeds but also throughout the plant kingdom. It was hard for the researchers to make any generalizations about the soy phytoestrogens, though, because soy consumption by the subjects was rather low across the board. That research was done in Washington state. Japan, however, has the highest per capita soy consumption in the world, which could allow for a bigger spread of intakes. Researchers had “previously found that soya intake was inversely associated with the risk of hysterectomy,” meaning women who consumed more soy had lower hysterectomy rates, “suggesting a potentially protective effect of soya against uterine fibroids,” the main reason women have their uterus removed. This is consistent with in vitro studies that found that the main soy phytoestrogen seemed to inhibit fibroid tissue proliferation in a petri dish. But when the researchers in Japan specifically looked at that connection, they found there was no evidence of a link to soy at all, protective or otherwise. The same was found in a study from China. As you can see at 3:18 in my video, fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a significantly lower risk of fibroids, but soy food consumption was not. A second study out of China published the same year, however, did find a significant association between soy milk intake and fibroids, which was consistent with three alarming case reports of women with symptomatic fibroids reporting an “unusually high intake of soy milk,” “regularly consuming excessive amounts of soy, or having “an extremely high intake of soy” every day for decades. It’s hard to take these cases seriously when nowhere does it specify how much they were consuming. The only quantitative mention was 40 grams of isoflavones, roughly equivalent to 400 gallons of soy milk every day, which would be excessive, but also impossible. The only way to know for sure is to put it to the test—and not just in a population study or anecdotal reports, but to randomize women to two years of soy phytoestrogens in the amount found in three to five cups of soy milk a day. When researchers did just that, no significant effect on the frequency or growth of fibroids was found. KEY TAKEAWAYS About 25 percent of women will suffer from fibroids, which commonly manifest as excessively heavy periods, pain, or pressure and are the most common reason for hysterectomies. Alcohol consumption, especially beer, is associated with greater risk of fibroids. Fibroids are two to three times more prevalent among Black women, who have higher levels of lactose intolerance. Per capita soy consumption is highest in Japan. Researchers had thought soy may have a potentially protective effect against uterine fibroids, but no evidence of a link to soy was found, whether protective or otherwise. Intake of fruits and vegetables was associated with significantly lower risk, but not soy foods. Researchers randomized women to two years of soy phytoestrogens in the amount found in three to five cups of soymilk a day, and did not find any significant effect on the growth or frequency of fibroids. This article has been modified. To read the original article click here.

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Study Finds Women at Greater Risk of Depression and Anxiety After Hysterectomy

The AHA! Team — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Mayo Clinic via EurekAlert, ROCHESTER, Minn. – “Our study shows that removing the uterus may have more effect on physical and mental health than previously thought” Hysterectomy is associated with an increased risk of long-term mental health issues, especially depression and anxiety, according to a cohort study by Mayo Clinic researchers involving nearly 2,100 women. The review of health records from 1980 to 2002 involved women who underwent removal of the uterus but not the ovaries. The study, which used data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, considered only new diagnoses of depression, anxiety, dementia, substance abuse and schizophrenia after hysterectomy, and excluded women with prior diagnoses. Researchers found an absolute risk increase of 6.6% for depression and 4.7% for anxiety over 30 years, says senior author Shannon Laughlin-Tommaso, M.D., a Mayo Clinic OB-GYN. For women who underwent hysterectomy between the ages of 18 and 35, the risk of depression was higher, with absolute risk increase over 30 years of 12%. “Our study shows that removing the uterus may have more effect on physical and mental health than previously thought,” says Dr. Laughlin-Tommaso. “Because women often get a hysterectomy at a young age, knowing the risks associated with the procedure even years later is important.” Dr. Laughlin-Tommaso says several treatments for benign gynecological conditions are available that would allow a woman to avoid hysterectomy. “Those alternatives should be tried before going to hysterectomy, especially at a young age,” she says. The study is one of two Mayo Clinic studies published online by Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society. These studies examine the association between hysterectomy with or without removal of the ovaries and women’s mental health. The second study, also based on data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, finds that women who had both ovaries removed without an indication of malignancy were more likely to have preexisting mood disorders, anxiety disorders or other less common psychological disorders. The study examined the health records of 1,653 premenopausal women who had their ovaries removed at the time of hysterectomy, most to avoid or minimize the risk of ovarian or breast cancer. Researchers identified several psychiatric conditions that may have influenced women to decide to request surgery, or a primary care doctor or gynecologist to endorse or suggest surgery. “We can say that psychological conditions may have played an important role in the decision to perform hysterectomy, with or without removal of the ovaries,” says Walter Rocca, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist and epidemiologist. “Understanding the psychiatric conditions that may have influenced the past practice of hysterectomy is important for developing more conservative strategies in the future.” Dr. Rocca is senior author of the study. To read the original article click here.

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