A new gadget could save women from the misery and discomfort of fibroids and reduce the number of hysterectomies.
The device will be trialled in two British hospitals and if successful, the treatment could be widely available by the end of next year.
Fibroids are benign lumps found in and around the womb, which affect one in four women. Although, in most cases, they have no problematic side effects and often remain undetected, they can cause heavy periods, anaemia, bloating and constipation and are also linked to miscarriages and infertility.
Current treatments for fibroids include drugs that enforce a temporary menopause, and hysterectomy, in which the womb is completely removed.
Although the latter is only carried out in extreme cases and when the woman has already had a family or does not want children, it carries all the risks of a major operation.
The new ‘zapper’, VizAblate, is non-invasive, requires no pre-treatment and can take as little as half an hour. The wand-shaped device melts the fibroids away using a radio-frequency electrical current.
Professor Janesh Gupta, of Birmingham Women’s Hospital, who will be testing the device, said: “‘You insert the probe into the middle of the fibroid, do the treatment and get out, so you don’t have any potential risk of bleeding.”
What are fibroids?
Fibroids are non-cancerous lumps found in and around the womb. Up to 40 per cent of women over the age of 35 are affected by them but in most cases they do not cause any problems and in many cases the woman doesn’t even know she has them.
Symptoms
In some cases fibroids can cause the following complications:
- Heavy periods
- Anaemia
- Back pain
- Bloating, in the case of large or numerous fibroids
- Urinary problems – fibroids can press on the bladder leading ton frequent urination.
- Constipation – pressure on the bowel can cause problems such as constipation
- Miscarriage and premature birth – fibroids are stimulated by high levels of oestrogen and can swell to five times their usual size during pregnancy, which can get in the way of the growing baby.