Sometimes, the surgeon will prescribe Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, such as Depot Lupron, to be taken a month or two in advance. That will shrink the fibroids while being taken. The downside of using Lupron is a temporary menopause, with symptoms such as hot flashes, sweating and the like.

Before inserting the hysteroscope, the uterus is filled with either saline or carbon dioxide. Then the cervix is numbed, and when the instrument is finally in, the surgeon can actually seE what is inside — myomas, polyps, or something else that can cause bleedings as well. The entire procedure takes a minute or two and can be done in the office.

With the advance of thinner and better accompanying instruments, operative hysteroscopy can, in many cases, be a means to avoid hysterectomy. The resectoscope is very efficient tool and it is recommended that it be used only by surgeons who have extensive experience with it.

Advantages and the Follow-up To Hysteroscopic Myomectomy

The greatest advantage of hysteroscopic myomectomy is quick recovery time. The entire procedure can be done in an outpatient surgery center, under local anesthesia, or — which is what majority of women preferrs — under general anesthesia. The patient will usually experience the pain and bleeding after the procedure, but nothing too strong that couldn’t be regulated by oral pain medications. However, if the pain is severe or bleeding is heavy and bright red, the patient should return to the hospital immediately. Other risks would be bleeding and infection, but all surgeries could have that as an aftereffect.

The Success Rates of Hysteroscopic Myomectomy

Intracavitary and submucosal fibroids tend to produce heavy bleedings and if the hysteroscopic myomectomy was done correctly, the heavy periods should stop in 80 and 90 percent of all cases. Successful removal of one fibroid does not mean that others won’t grow again. About 20 percent of women need another fibroid treatment within ten years. As with other types of myomectomies, fertility is (or should be) preserved. Where large fibroids prevented fertility, pregnancy rates were high after hysteroscopic myomectomy.

Resectoscope can also be used to perform endometrial ablation, which is destroying the uterine lining (endometrium). This will permanently stop menstrual bleeding and the growth of certain types of fibroids, but will also destroy fertility. Endometrial ablation preserves the uterus, but at the price of permanently being unable to conceive. It is only for the women who have completed their childbearing.

There are many other methods for endometrial ablation, and practically all are explained within this site. For a list of energy healing methods that can directly destroy myoma of uterus, without any surgery at all, please visit our fibroid treatments page.

Besides abdominal, there are also laparoscopic and hysteroscopic myomectomy. Abdominal myomectomy represents the most classical approach:

Abdominal myomectomy is a very flexible approach, because the surgeon can see and reach all parts of the uterus. If there are smaller fibroids that were not diagnosed earlier, they can be removed now too, and there is no limit as to the number of the removed fibroids. The whole procedure is done in a hospital setting, in deep anesthesia, and most patients can go home after two or three days. It should take them several weeks to get back to normal life, but this will vary from one woman to another. In any case, we are talking serious surgery here, so serious that not many surgeons dare do it at all.

Problems With Abdominal Myomectomy

The main problem is loss of blood. Large fibroids mean large basis through which the fibroid is held to the endometrium, the uterine interior wall. Cutting them out naively, with the usual surgical instruments, can produce large loss of blood, after which this entire method became infamous. It is of utmost importance to select a surgeon that does abdominal myomectomy often and with good results. Just to name two of many surgical techniques that reduce blood flow, a skilled surgeon in will inject medicines into the uterus that shrink blood vessels before the incision, and will use laser to incise the uterus as this also seals blood vessels and further reduces bleeding.

Abdominal Myomectomy vs. Other Forms of Myomectomy

If fibroids are on the inside of the uterus (submuocus), a resectoscope may be used, requring no incision at all. For fibroids on the outside of the uterus (subserous), or if there are fibroids on a stalk (“hanging” outside of the uterus but still attached to it — so called pedunculated fibroids), laparoscopy may be the method of choice; it will require several small incisions, but the recovery time afterwards is relatively short. Finally, abdominal myomectomy is for everything else, such as lots of fibroids or fibroids deep in the tissue of the uterus.

The main practical goal here is to stop heavy bleeding and pressure on the internal organs from the (possibly large) fibroids. The disadvantage is that fibroids can happen again. Fibroids that are cut out cannot come back, but if nothing else changes in the life of the patient, fibroids that were not operated upon may grow larger, or new ones can form. If there were one or two large fibroids and they were taken out, the risk of other such fibroids growing again is low. If there were a large number of small fibroids and some of them were not taken out during myomectomy, they can just continue growing as if no surgery ever happened.

(This of course begs the question — why were not those small fibroids taken out as well? In abdominal myomectomy, the surgeon can actually see and feel under his fingertips the entire uterus. If he can detect them, he can can take them out. However, in a procedure such as laparascopy, the fibroids that are near the surface of the uterus are taken out, while the other parts are simply not taken into account, so smaller fibroids can remain there, unseen and untouched… That is why it is important to diagnose the fibroids entirely and completely, usually with ultrasound, MRI, hysteroscopy etc.)

It is possible to misdiagnose adenomyosis for fibroids and then a wrong kind of surgery may be undertaken.

The Position of the Fibroids

The preferred methods will depend on the place the fibroids occupy. The types of fibroids are:

Intracavitary myomas — inside the uterine cavity. Will usually produce metrorrhagia (bleeding between periods) and/or severe cramping. This type of myomas can be successfuly eliminated by a procedure called hysteroscopic resection, through the cervix and with no incision.

Submucous myomas — one part in the cavity and the rest in the wall of the uterus. Usually produces menorrhagia (heavy menstrual bleeding) as well as bleeding between periods. For some of these myomas, hysteroscopic resection may be a method of choice.

Intramural myomas — in the wall of the uterus. Can be very small up to large as a grapefruit. There are several fibroid treatments for this group, but — best of all — this type of fibroids may not call for a surgery at all.

Subserous myomas — on the outer wall of the uterus. Can be destroyed by laparoscopy.

Pedunculated myoma — an outside myoma on the stalk. Best eliminated by laparoscopy.

Various Forms of Myomectomy

There is not one technique good in all cases, rather it is a body of evolving techniques, such as:

Abdominal myomectomy

Laparoscopic myomectomy

Laparoscopic myomectomy videos

Hysteroscopic resection (hysteroscopic myomectomy)

The Risks of Myomectomy

Many surgeons can do hysterecomy but are not well versed in myomectomy. For them, hysterectomy is a safer route, but you insist on having everything explained to you before commiting yourself to hysterectomy.

If the surgeon is properly trained, the risks will be minimal. Still, note the following list of possible problems:

. blood loss,

. bowel obstruction,

. anemia,

. pain,

. late intestinal obstruction,

. infertility,

. possible conversion to hysterectomy during myomectomy, and

. subsequent surgery.

Pregnancy after myomectomy is not impossible, but some parts of the uterine wall may become weaker because of the myomectomy, with possible complications in pregnancy such as ruptures of the uterine wall, and cesarean section.

Fibroids are benign tumors, but in 1% of all cases there is a possibility that they will become malign. If that is not discovered before the operation, the surgeon may convert the myomectomy to a hysterectomy, in order to prevent spreading cancer to the other parts of the body.

You can see laparoscopic myomectomy videos here.

Just as with any other type of myomectomy, the goal of laparoscopy is to stop heavy bleeding and pressure on the internal organs from the (possibly large) fibroids. Theoretically, it is possible to get rid of any kind of uterine fibroids with laparoscopic myomectomy, but the fact is it works best if there were one or two large fibroids. With other types of myoma present, laparoscopy may not be ideal solution, since there will be a defect in the uterus on the place occupied by the fibroid that was taken out, and that defect must be repaired in order to prevent complications.

Whom Laparoscopic Myomectomy Is For?

To be eligible for this surgical procedure, the following conditions should be met:

(1) No individual myoma should be larger than 7 cm.

(2) If there are multiple myomata, the uterine size should not be greater than 14 weeks.

(3) No myoma should be near the uterine vessels or tubal cornua. At least 50% of the myoma should be subserosal. Hysteroscopic myomectomy (a.k.a. operative hysteroscopy) is the preferred procedure for removal of submucous myomas.

Laparoscopic Myomectomy with Colpotomy

If there are large fibroids in the uterus, a colpotomy — another incision in the vagina — is needed. This procedure cannot repair the defects left by the fibroids, and must be performed in conjunction with another kind of surgery.

Laparoscopic Assisted Myomectomy

Laparoscopic Assisted Myomectomy (LAM) is a laparoscopic procedure which also includes a small traditional abdominal incision (minilaparotomy) to remove the fibroids. This type of procedure can be used for any size of fibroid. Because the incision is only 4-5 cm, recovery is quicker than from a conventional myomectomy.

Laparoscopic-Assisted Transvaginal Myomectomy

This is a combination of traditional laparoscopic myomectomy and posterior colpotomy, which enables the surgeon to inspect and repair the uterus digitally, while still operating within the benefits of minimally invasive surgery.

Laparoscopic-Assisted Vaginal Myomectomy

Conditions for success with LAVM are:

(1) Removal of the dominant myoma must render the uterus mobile enough to be delivered to the colpotomy site; and

(2) The vagina and cul-de-sac must be ample enough to allow for generous colpotomy (parous preferred).

Colpotomy, rather than minilaparotomy, lends itself better to removal of large transmural myomas, and the surgeon may inspect the myoma cavity and repair the uterine defect better. Within this technique blood loss can be as small as it gets.

Problems with Laparoscopic Myomectomy

t can be a lengthy and difficult procedure, reserved for experienced surgeons with a thorough familiarity with endoscopic sutures. Always talk to the surgeon and assess how experienced he or she is in laparoscopic myomectomy.

In some cases, it results in excessive blood loss, prolonged operating time and/or the need to convert to laparotomy. And by the way, the surgeon may decide upon complete hysterectomy, depending on the state of the entire body.

Laparoscopic suturing of the myometrium may contribute to uterine dehiscence, which goes contrary to the very reason of undertaking myomectomy. Its main practical goal is that the patient can achieve successful pregnancy, and uterine dehiscence means that there may be a weak spot in the uterus, which might cause the uterus to rupture in pregnancy.

For laparoscopic myomectomy better suturing tools are needed. Ask the hospital whether they have them and whether they use them.

Advantages of Laparoscopic Myomectomy

The main advantage is shorter hospital stay, say 3 hospital days versus myomectomy by laparotomy with its 5 or more hospital days after surgery. However, as minimally invasive as it gets, laparoscopic myomectomy still is a real surgery and may need every bit of patience to recover. It would be a grave mistake to just read about how other women got well in two weeks and surmise that that will be the case with you too…

Some other types of myomectomy may be of interest to you as well.

If childbearing is not important in your particular situation, endometrial ablation may also be an viable surgical alternative to hysterectomy. For a list of energy healing methods that can directly destroy myoma of uterus, without any surgery at all, please visit our Fibroid Treatments page.

Question: I have had problems with an irregular cycle. I also have fibroids. My doctor has recommended a hysterectomy, but I am uncomfortable with such radical surgery. Do I have other options? I am 45 and otherwise in good health.

which is answered by Dr. Richard T. Bosshardt for Orlando Sentinel, under the title of
Weigh your options before you undergo hysterectomy. Here is my comment to the article:

==========================

Hi

A nice article written from the doctor’s point of view. I’d also like to remind that there are other methods from alternative medicine that can help with fibroids and irregular bleeding.

With the advent of the Internet, women to which hysterectomy was suggested can ask other women through specialized forums and groups, and there are dozens of sites devoted to hysterectomy and its consequences. Here are suggestions for some of these:

www.youtube.com, search for hysterectomy, laparoscopy, myoma, myomectomy etc.
www.nohysterectomy.com, written by a leading gynecologist in the USA
www.how-to-avoid-hysterectomy.com — minimally invasive procedures such as endometrial ablation instead of hysterectomy, then homeopathy, Bach flower remedies, herbal remedies, Su Jok, Reiki, enzymes… are the methods of energy healing that can all help with the fibroids. The site also contains a collection of annotated videos from youTybe and Google Video.
www.hystersisters.com — a site for hysterectomy recovery, very large, contains a ton of info, but geared to those that have already had their hysterectomy, preferably a “happy” one.

There are other links of course, but these can be a useful start. You have the right to know what will happen to your body after such a major surgery so do your homework well.

All the best, Dusko

Laparoscopic myomectomy

Abdominal myomectomy

Hysteroscopic myomectomy

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

All astrologers should come and see the readings of the charts, and students of medical astrology should certainly bookmark the site to come and read all of it!

Students and practitioners of various energy healing techniques, such as Reiki, homeopathy, Su Jok, herbal and flower remedies and so on, should also come to How To Avoid Hysterectomy.com to see how their methods blend in with periods of time that were read through the horoscope.

Of course, all others interested in hysterectomy in particular and in gynecology at large should feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed!

. heavy metrorrhagia (profuse bleeding),

. heavy anaemia, and a

. fibroid 2×4 cm on the rear wall of the uterus.

She was released from the hospital without any intervention or therapy for the acutely bleeding uterine fibroids! In this situation, she remembered homeopathy, due to Mercury in Pisces and Venus in Aries in the solar chart. (The signs of Pisces and Aries are very imporant for homeopathy, because its founder, Samuel Hanneman, had three planets in Pisces and another three planets in Aries; Kent also had six planets in these signs.) So she was prescribed a routine mixture of homeopathic remedies for uterine fibroids. All the problems, including the fibroid itself, disappeared within the first month of treatment, without any surgery.

She was released from the hospital without any intervention or therapy for the acutely bleeding uterine fibroids! In this situation, she remembered homeopathy, due to Mercury in Pisces and Venus in Aries in the solar chart. (The signs of Pisces and Aries are very imporant for homeopathy, because its founder, Samuel Hanneman, had three planets in Pisces and another three planets in Aries; Kent also had six planets in these signs.) So she was prescribed a routine mixture of homeopathic remedies for uterine fibroids. All the problems, including the fibroid itself, disappeared within the first month of treatment, without any surgery.

The Natal Chart

This woman is born on 6th of February 1955, 8:15am, 44:48N, 20:30E.

Here are the important facts from the chart: The Sun is on 15 Aquarius, the Moon on 6 Leo, and the Ascendant is 20 Pisces.

Mars sextile the Sun together with Jupiter, Uranus and the Moon in the fifth house, made her spend her youth playing tennis.

There is a striking great watery trine, the Ascendent on 20 Pisces, Saturn in the VIII house on 20 Scorpio, then Jupiter on 22 and Uranus on 24 Cancer.

Saturn in Scorpio in the VIII house will give diseases of reproductive organs throughout life. Pluto rules the VIII house and is in the VI house, opposite to retrograde Mercury on 29 Aquarius, where Mercury is a co-ruler or second ruler of the VI house.

Mercury and the Sun are in the XII house… all the three houses of diseases are connected through aspects of the planets, so in one point in life this has to materialize as an illness.

Additionaly, Saturn squares Pluto (his ruler) and is inconjunct Mars (another ruler of Saturn, through Scorpio). Fortunately, Saturn is a part of the aforementioned great watery trine, which will facilitate easy regeneration from the diseases of the VIII house in Scorpio.

Hard aspects of Saturn, in Scorpio and in the VIII house, are a predisposition for a bladder stone.

Saturn square the Sun is an operation as well as a chronic rheumatism.

The Moon in the V house in hard aspects and on a malefic fixes star is a precondition for premature abortions of a pregnancy.

A full V house with hard aspects of Saturn and Uranus to the rulers of the VI and VIII houses, guarantees the presence of venereal diseases or some other disorders of the genital system.

The Moon is on the fixed star North Aselus, which can lead to blindness or other problems with sight, when the transits come.

The Solar Return Chart and Transits for 2001

Let’s have a look at the solar return chart for 2001.

The Ascendant is on 23 Gemini, the VI house is from 10 Scorpio to 23 Sagittarius, with both of its rulers in it — Mars on 25 Scorpio and Pluto na 14 Sagittarius. Mars is in exact opposition to Saturn on 24 Taurus, the Sun is on 16 Aquarius and Uranus is on 20 Aquarius. From there, Uranus precisely squares the natal Saturn on 20 Scorpio. This chart contains similar energies, the Sun and Uranus are the focal points of a fixed T-square, with Saturn opposed to Mars as a base. This year, some illness will strike for sure, but it will not be fatal.

The VIII house is empty, while Pluto from the VI house is in exact sextile to Uranus and Sun, serving as an energy outlet for that T-square.

Mars in Scorpio in the VI house is an acute illness of the genitals (bleeding and inflammation), Saturn in the XII house is going to a hospital, Jupiter conjunct Saturn is a tumor and we only need see which part of the body to focus on.

The Moon on 6 Leo is in exact inconjunction with Neptune on 6 Aquarius, and we note that the 6th degree is similar to the VI house and the VI sign, therefore, the illness will be visible on part of the body ruled by the Moon exactly — the uterus itself.

Venus square Mars gives congestion — surplus blood being stored in the walls of the uterus.

Progression for 2001

The progression for year 2001 is similar to the solar return chart as the Ascendent is on 4 Gemini.

The VI house is in Libra and Scorpio, the VIII house is empty, and in the XII house Mars is on 18 Taurus opposed to Saturn from the VI, on 20 Scorpio. In the solar chart we see an identical opposition between those houses, except that Saturn is in Taurus and Mars is in Scorpio! The other important element is opposition of Venus to Pluto, which is making “a state within a state”, i.e. tumors and growths. Venus on 22 Aquarius and Pluton on 24 Leo are not only in opposition but are a part of grand cross with Mars and Saturn. It is a trend shaping for some ten or so years and has to materialize as a chronic (Saturn), long (fixed signs) illness of genital organs (Scorpio active, as well as its rulers), tumor (Venus opposed to Pluto), which must be resolved through amputation (Mars square Pluto) of the diseased tissues. The only difference is that here the uterine fibroids were amputated in a non-surgical manner.

Astrohomeopathical Diagnosis and Cures

In the natal chart, the following remedies are prominent: Arsenicum Album, Nux Vomica, Tubercullinum, Ignatia, Thuja, Strammonium, Naja Tripudians, Psorinum, Pulsatilla, and Calcarea Carbonica.

In progression, the remedies are:

Natrium Muriaticum, Latrodectus Mactans, Stramonium, Thuja, Platinum Metallicum, Syphillinum, Kalmia Latifolia, Lachesis.

In solar return chart, the remedies are:

Nux Vomica, Natrium Muriaticum, Aurum Metallicum, Tubercullinum, Strammonium, Silicea, Ferrum Phosphoricum, Syphillinum, Conium, Kalmia Latifolia, Psorinum, Pulsatilla, Sepia, Lachesis.

All this lead to an efficient healing with a mixture of homeopathic remedies, please see the page on homeopathic treatment for uterine fibroids.

Sometimes, the surgeon will prescribe Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, such as Depot Lupron, to be taken a month or two in advance. That will shrink the fibroids while being taken. The downside of using Lupron is a temporary menopause, with symptoms such as hot flashes, sweating and the like.

Click here to read the entire article on hysteroscopic myomectomy.

Besides abdominal, there are also laparoscopic and hysteroscopic myomectomy. Abdominal myomectomy represents the most classical approach:

A “true surgery” one might say, comparable to a large surgery of any other internal organ.

Please read the rest of the article on abdominal myomectomy.

The main practical goal here is to stop heavy bleeding and pressure on the internal organs from the (possibly large) fibroids. The disadvantage is that fibroids can happen again. Fibroids that are cut out cannot come back, but if nothing else changes in the life of the patient, fibroids that were not operated upon may grow larger, or new ones can form. If there were one or two large fibroids and they were taken out, the risk of other such fibroids growing again is low. If there were a large number of small fibroids and some of them were not taken out during myomectomy, they can just continue growing as if no surgery ever happened.

Please read more about myomectomy here.