For generations, the word “fibroid” has meant a familiar worry for Nigerian women: copious bleeding, great pain, a bloated abdomen, infertility and, often, the prospect of surgery and a long recovery. FOR MOST WOMEN IT BEGINS QUIETLY.
Vanguard reports that the periods become heavier, the pain worsens and the abdomen progressively becomes bloated.
Then comes the hospital appointment, the scan and for some the word they have dreaded all along surgery.
Traditionally treatment has meant procedures like myomectomy or hysterectomy with the potential for blood loss, hospital admission and a longer recovery.
The worry is not simply related to the operation. Women worry about anaesthesia, treatment costs, time off work and most importantly whether treatment could harm their chances of having children.
Sometimes, in women who have finished family building or have significant symptoms, the uterus is removed.
But the picture is changing Doctors can now employ focused sound waves to burn and destroy targeted fibroid tissue without making a traditional surgical incision in the belly to remove fibroids. The technology is known as High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound, or HIFU. Now, Nigeria has joined that story.
Beyond the surgeon’s scalpel Patricia Omoke’s life was dictated by her periods for years. The pains may be so bad she was out of commission for days. She was also experiencing significant bleeding and constant back discomfort, and the feeling that something was wrong.
Finally, it was in 2018 that the problem was given a name – uterine fibroids – when a scan revealed the problem. But knowing what was wrong didn’t make it any easier to discover the answer. All the doctors she interviewed agreed that operation was the best course. The idea of having a surgery scared Patricia, and she had never had one.
“All the doctors wanted to do surgery, but I had never had a surgery. Actually I was scared and looked for other options for treatment. “I was hoping for a miracle,” she said. She had taken the supplements, researched online and looked at just about every possible option there was to avoid the dreaded operation. Then she discovered HIFU, a non-invasive treatment that employs focused ultrasound radiation to heat and destroy targeted fibroid tissue. Patricia came across a social media campaign by the Fibroid Care Center at Nordica in Lagos, which was giving free HIFU therapy. She applied and was shortlisted with two other ladies.
Eventually she became the first person to receive the treatment at the center. I did the initial scan and it showed confirming the fibroid and I eventually proceeded for the treatment on June 25, 2021. I shall never forget the experience.
“I was nervous, scared, being the first person, but once I signed the consent form, I just put my trust in God and went through the normal process of getting prepared,” she added.
She had braced herself for a rough procedure and had mentally prepared for an intensive encounter. It went well, and was roughly one hour and five minutes long.
“It doesn’t remove the fibroid. Nothing like carving or scraping. The heat kills the fibroid and the treated tissue is broken down and absorbed by the body over time. “I didn’t have any complications,” she said. But the biggest surprise was when she stepped off the treatment table.
“The first thing I noticed after the procedure was that the back pain I had for a long time was gone. I stood up from the table and found that the discomfort was gone. The second thing I noticed was that I didn’t feel the fibroid anymore. Before the procedure I could feel the fibroid but now after the surgery I can’t feel it when I’m breathing. Also, there’s no darkening on my skin from the laser.”
Patricia’s story helps to understand why HIFU is gaining traction among women with symptomatic fibroids. But that doesn’t mean every woman with fibroids qualifies. From surgical intervention to sound waves “Not only is it a new technology, but it is a technology based on science,” Dr Abayomi Ajayi, Medical Director of Nordica Fertility Center and the Fibroid Care Center at Nordica said of the attraction of HIFU. His search for a nonsurgical treatment for fibroids started years before HIFU came into the picture.
He remembered the death of a prominent journalist after fibroid surgery.
But that was one of the things that drew me to this in the first place. I was a young doctor when there was a popular journalist who died from fibroid surgery. Since then, I have been fascinated with the issue of fibroid and to explore what we could do to treat fibroid without surgery and that is what I have been trying to achieve. “We took it to heart when we finally saw HIFU, and we have not had reason to regret it because many women have embraced it and we have many testimonials.
HIFU Medical and Nordica said that 965 women had been treated for fibroids with HIFU at the Lagos and Abuja centers and that 30 pregnancies had been documented after treatment. Fibroids affect more than just periods Fibroids are benign (non-cancerous) growths that form in or around the uterus.
They are frequent in women of reproductive age and may cause heavy or extended menstrual bleeding, pelvic pressure, pain and, in some circumstances, fertility issues. The problem for women with fibroids is not usually a medical one. It can impact job, relationships, finances and preparations for parenthood. The challenge generally is how best to treat the fibroid while protecting the uterus and when feasible, fertility.
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