Atlanta’s doctors provide answers to all your medical questions.
One Best Self reader asked: Are there other surgical options besides a hysterectomy for fibroids?
Assia Stepanian, MD
of Academia of Women’s Health & Endoscopic Surgery says: Absolutely! These options depend on the reproductive goals, symptoms, locations of the fibroids and general health aspects. Myomectomy is the only surgery approved for women with fibroids desiring fertility.
Laparoscopic, robotic or hysteroscopic approaches belong to minimally invasive gynecologic surgery because the incisions from these procedures are smaller and recovery is significantly easier than after laparotomy.
Essentially everything done in myomectomy with larger incisions can be done through small incisions or no incisions at all. The exception would be extremely large or very wide fibroids and patients with medical contraindications to the above methods.
