- Medical Weight LossWeight loss after embolization is just easier. It’s hard to notice positive body changes when your abdominal area is bloated and distended. And the life limits imposed by fibroids may mean you’ve been sticking close to home, as opposed to out there and active. Inactivity can certainly pile on the pounds.
- Nutritional CounselingA low-fat, high-protein diet may help slow fibroid growth and relieve some symptoms. How? Certain substances secreted by fat cells mimic the effects of estrogen. Estrogen is linked to the development fibroids and fibroid growth. By limiting fat in your diet, you reduce fat cells and their ability to mimic estrogen. The high-protein part of this diet can be challenging. Protein sources such as factory-farmed eggs, dairy, meat, poultry and fish often have high levels of estrogen. Many plant-based proteins such as soy products, beans, nuts and yams are also estrogen rich.
- Emergency Care“I gave myself a week and a half off from work, just to be safe. I was able to go to a small get together a few days after the surgery, I was mostly tired. But it was good to get up and move around a little. I think I could have stretched my groin more in the beginning. I hosted a party a week and a half post surgery. I had a fever about a week after the surgery. Dr. McLucas met me at the Emergency Room. Everything was fine, but he put me on an antibiotic just in case.”
- Constipation
- Urinary IncontinenceFrequent Urination: As the uterus swells, it often puts pressure on the bladder, resulting in more frequent urination or urinary incontinence.
- GynecologyDr. McLucas is an OB-GYN who is also qualified to perform uterine artery embolizations. He founded the Fibroid Treatment Collective more than 12 years ago and his team performed the first embolization in the US at UCLA in 1994. Today he travels the world to teach doctors in other countries about embolization.
- Female Infertility
- ObstetricsDr. Bruce McLucas was educated at Princeton University and received his M.D. from Yale University Medical School. Internship at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center focused his attention on obstetrics and gynecology. Specialization in this field continued during his residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles. He is also an attending physician at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
- EndometriosisAbout 20% to 80% of women develop fibroids by the time they reach age 50. Numerous conditions can cause pelvic pain and/or fibroid pain. Pelvic pain and back pain are symptoms of fibroids. Endometriosis adhesions, infection, the back disease could all be the source of pelvic discomfort. A trained fibroid specialist should recognize subtle differences which may signal another problem. This is why it’s vital to have regular checkups and a good working relationship with your doctor.
- Pelvic Pain
- Pregnancy
- Labor and DeliverySo Safe. Embolization is a medical term that refers to the blocking of blood vessels using tiny micro-particles. Embolization has been used by surgeons for over 50 years to stop unexpected or uncontrolled bleeding. In the early 90’s, a doctor in France noticed when blood vessels in the uterus were embolized to halt bleeding after childbirth or during surgery, fibroids in the embolized area significantly shrank. The benefits of embolization are truly limitless.
- Internal MedicineDr. Katrine Zhiroff is an Interventional Cardiologist with Los Angeles Cardiology Associates. She finished her undergraduate degree with summa cum laude at UCLA. She went on to receive her M.D. degree from UC San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Zhiroff completed her internal medicine and cardiology training at Harbor UCLA Medical Center, and continued her subspecialty training in cardiovascular interventions in the Good Samaritan and Harbor UCLA fellowhip program. Throughout her training she has received numerous excellence and teaching awards.
- Ovarian CancerDr. Ramin Mirhashemi is an OB-GYN licensed to practice gynecologic oncology and obstetrics & gynecology in California and Florida. Dr. Mirhashemi specializes in gynecologic oncology and obstetrics & gynecology. Dr. Mirhashemi received a medical degree at University of Southern California in 1993. He completed an internship and residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School. His fellowship in Gynecologic Oncology was obtained at the University of Miami. Dr. Mirhashemi is a former Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UCLA School of Medicine and at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He also was the Director of the Familial Breast and Ovarian Cancer Genetic Center at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Mirhashemi has the largest experience in utilizing robotic surgery for gynecologic conditions west of the Mississippi. Dr. Mirhashemi has published over 60 journal articles, research articles and book chapters relative to women’s health.
- Cervical CancerA sub-total hysterectomy, also known as a partial hysterectomy, leaves the cervix intact but the rest of the uterus is removed. Many doctors remove the cervix automatically as a precaution against cervical cancer. These procedures can be performed abdominally, vaginally, or laparoscopically.
- Anxiety
- UltrasoundSome of the symptoms caused by fibroids may also include warning signs of cancer within the reproductive system. Bleeding may be a sign of cancer of the lining of the uterus, the endometrium, or of the cervix. Often a simple biopsy or an ultrasound will reassure a woman that unusual or heavy bleeding is indeed caused by benign fibroid tumors. While a slowly enlarging uterus is also typically a sign of fibroids, it is important to have a doctor confirm this with appropriate tests. Rapid growth in the size of the uterus may signal a cancer, either of the uterus or of the ovaries.
- MRIWomen typically undergo an ultrasound at their gynecologist’s office to visualize the uterus for fibroid tumors. Ultrasound, however, does not show other underlying diseases or all the existing fibroids, particularly their positions. Some doctors will suggest MRI to reveal if the fibroid is pressing against the spine, and rule out the possibility of other causes of back pain. Finding the appropriate treatment is key to getting relief from back pain and fibroid symptoms. For more information on the types of fibroids and associated symptoms please visit this article.
- RadiologyDr. Tina Hardley specializes in both Interventional and Vascular and Diagnostic Radiology. She currently performs minimally invasive surgeries for both adults and children. Dr. Hardley is a graduate from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and completed both her residency and fellowship at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She has been with Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles since 2001. Dr. Hardley is also an active member of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR).
- X-Rays
- Interventional RadiologyDr. Babak Yaghmai is Board Certified in Diagnostic Radiology with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Vascular and Interventional Radiology. Dr. Yaghmai earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia. He completed his Diagnostic Radiology residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois and his fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology at the University of Illinois Hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Yaghmai has held academic appointments at the University of Chicago as an Assistant Professor/Interventional Radiology, as well as an Assistant Residency Coordinator. He has also authored and co-authored many peered reviewed publications, scientific exhibits and presentations.
- SciaticaBack and leg pain is most common with Subserosal uterine fibroids, which grow on the outside of the uterus. If the fibroid is located on the back of the uterus, it is very close to the spinal column. If it becomes large enough it can press on or pinch the nerves in that area, causing fibroid pain. It can also cause sciatica as the fibroid presses against the sciatic nerve and sends pain down the back of the legs.
- Robotic Surgery
- HysterectomyFibroids surgery is the most common cause for hysterectomy, the removal of the uterus. They are associated with as many as half of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed in the US annually. Depending on their location, there may be heavy bleeding from fibroids, fibroid pain symptoms, or pressure on bowel and bladder. Most hysterectomies performed for fibroids [the medical term is myoma] are performed by the abdominal route since the fibroids may grow to be quite large. Fibroids are almost never cancerous.
- Laparoscopy“The best thing about embo is the relief in symptoms. I couldn’t believe how quickly I saw relief. It’s truly amazing how a small nick in your groin can make it all go away. The worst thing is that my previous doctor didn’t tell me about embolization. I did all of the research on my own after having an unsuccessful laparoscopy. It makes me mad and sad that I could have had embolization earlier and I wouldn’t have had to live through an unsuccessful surgery and another year of symptoms.”
- Acne Treatment
- Cyst
- Back Pain