Al Ahli Hospital saves the life of a woman with a uterus that is over three times larger than normal.
Al-Ahli Hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department team performed an extraordinary surgery on a woman that had a uterus three times larger than the normal size.
After examination, doctors realised the 25cm uterus was a result of sixty pieces of multiple fibroids.
“The lady came to our clinic with unusual pain and bleeding with huge abdominal mass. After examinations and tests, we found that she has a huge uterus measuring 25cm with multiple fibroids,” said consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Dr. Zahra Alamooti, according to The Peninsula.
The surgery, which lasted for three hours, is considered life changing for the woman, especially given that the other option was hysterectomy.
“She was advised by other centres to undergo hysterectomy as this is a huge mass but the patient desired to keep her uterus, considering her age and that she is unmarried. So I decided to do an open myomectomy,” Alamooti added.
A hysterectomy is an operation to remove the uterus. However, a myomectomy is a surgical procedure that removes fibroids and preserves the uterus.
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“Surgery can be life changing for people whose fibroids interfere with their quality of life,” the doctor said.
The medical team performed the surgery for three and a half hours in which they removed the fibroids one by one. A total of 60 fibroids were removed, the largest of which was 9cm in size.
Other steps were also followed to ensure the control of bleeding, Alamooti said. The 43-year-old woman was able to return to work and resume daily activities shortly after.
“A doctor can provide advice on which surgeries might be appropriate,” said Alamooti. In recent years, uterine fibroids have been shown not to require hysterectomies.
“We should try to keep women’s uterus as we can, except with any malignancy issues..[..] a person may also wish to consider seeking a second opinion before agreeing to surgery,” Dr Alamooti added.
Uterine fibroids are noncancerous (1% tends to be malignant), and they grow inside the uterus across different locations.
Though it is unclear why uterine fibroids develop, several factors may influence their formation, including hormones, family history, and late pregnancies.
“Although fibroids can grow with different sizes, many people with fibroids are unaware that they have them. People with asymptomatic fibroids do not require surgery or other treatments,” said Dr. Alamooti.
“However, other people experience abdominal pain, pressure, bloating, frequent urination, and heavy or painful periods. These individuals may require surgery,” she said.
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