Pregnancy After Removal of Fibroids: What to Expect

Women who want to pursue pregnancy after removal of fibroids have to be careful when choosing between treatment options. Now, many women are told that getting a hysterectomy is the only way to find fibroid relief But if you want to get pregnant, and get rid of fibroids, you'll need to follow a different (and less invasive) path to relief.

Treatments that Allow Pregnancy After Removal of Fibroids

Despite what you may have heard, you can shrink your fibroids without sacrificing your ability to have children. In fact, you can treat fibroids without invasive surgery. Here are the two main treatment options that provide fibroid relief without sacrificing your uterus.

Uterine Fibroid Embolization

Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE), an outpatient procedure performed by our interventional radiologist in Dallas, involves getting a small injection in the arm or leg. That tiny puncture allows for the insertion of a catheter that delivers embolic material to the uterine artery through that catheter. Following the procedure, your fibroid shrinks because of reduced blood supply.

Now, the science is still out on whether UFE will affect future pregnancies. However, women are speaking out and telling us about pregnancy after removal of fibroids via UFE. In fact, Sheila told the Washington Informer after her treatment, “What I would say to another woman who has fibroids and wants to get pregnant is to go get the embolization.  I don’t feel the pain that I felt before, I feel great, I have a lot more energy.” Even better, she concluded, "I am actually pregnant, I am fine, and I will be fine.  It’s literally life-changing.”

Myomectomy

This is a surgical procedure that removes individual fibroids via small incisions made in the abdomen or pelvic region. It is a less invasive procedure than a hysterectomy, but it still requires general anesthesia and a hospital stay. And, for some women, it is not always an easy pathway to pregnancy. In fact, recently, Deion Sanders revealed that his daughter Deiondra is pregnant. And he explained that the pregnancy occurred after she underwent her fourth myomectomy procedure. The pregnancy was especially miraculous, he said, because the doctors couldn't remove her entire tumor and had warned her that having this child was an unlikely outcome.

Watch and Wait

Of course, some women choose to leave their fibroids in place and become pregnant anyway. And, while you can have a successful pregnancy with fibroids, it can increase your risk for complications. For that reason, many women do seek fibroid treatment before getting pregnant. 

Now, if you are exploring pregnancy after removal of fibroids, your odds of conceiving and delivering a healthy baby may improve. And, if you wish to learn more about UFE treatment, we're here to help. Simply click here to request an appointment with our fibroid specialists in Dallas, TX.