Large fibroid and Urine Retention

One of the effects of fibroids is urine retention. I had a patient recently with increasing difficulty with passing urine over several months. Eventually she ended up in the emergency unit with acute retention of urine and had to have her bladder catheterised. If the fibroid is in the back of the uterus and large, the entire uterus is pulled backwards. This results in the urethra ( the passage through which a woman passes urine ) being stretched and `thinned out' eventually blocking the passage of urine. My patient had an 8cm fibroid in addition there were other smaller fibroids which were also causing her heavy periods. Removal of the fibroids gave her instant relief from this problem. Not all fibroids need be removed but if fibroids are causing symptoms or are significantly large then surgery is indicated. Although medication is able to shrink fibroids, it is generally used to reduce it to a size that it can be taken out through a laparoscope. In the case of my patient, the acute nature of the fibroid meant that she could not wait for medical treatment to take effect and therefore had it removed through a conventional incision.