Karen of Chicago, Illinois
A sharp pain in her side forced Karen to seek immediate attention at a local area hospital. The 48-year-old U.S. postal service employee feared a ruptured appendix. However, a CAT scan soon revealed the source of her extreme discomfort: fibroids.
Karen and her gynecologist had been monitoring her fibroids for several years before her trip to the emergency room in the spring of 2003. Gradually Karen’s fibroids had caused heavy bleeding during her menstrual cycle, severe cramping, and painful urination. The growing fibroids also gave Karen an unsightly bulge in her abdominal area that no amount of sit ups or crunches could flatten. “I was exercising regularly,” says Karen, “and everyplace on my body was thin except for my stomach!”
Karen followed up with her physician, who recommended a hysterectomy based on Karen’s age and the fact that she already had a child and had no plans for more. “I thought this option was a bit drastic,” remembers this mother of a young adult daughter. “If I had had cancer, then yes, absolutely take out my uterus. But if I had just a bump on my nose, I wouldn’t consider removing my nose; I would have the growth removed.”
Researching alternative treatments, Karen happened upon a magazine article featuring fibroids. She learned about uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) and mentioned it as an option to her gynecologist when she voiced her concerns about undergoing major surgery. “While he said UFE was still too new to determine its long-term effects or success,” recalls Karen, “he referred me to Dr. Howard Chrisman, who had performed a number of the procedures at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.”
Karen met with the UFE team at Northwestern in the fall of 2003 and underwent the procedure by December of that year. “I was so comfortable and pain-free during the procedure that I fell asleep,” says Karen. “I was angry. I had wanted to stay awake to watch! Of course, they knew what they were doing, and I really trusted them.”
After spending one night in the hospital, Karen went home on a Friday and was shopping on Michigan Avenue by the following Monday. She went back to work after two weeks. In the meantime, her cramping subsided and quickly disappeared along with the heavy bleeding she used to have during her period. She no longer worries about using heavy-duty sanitary pads or wearing snug girdles to pull her abdomen in.
So happy with the results of her UFE procedure, Karen constantly recommends it to family, friends, and coworkers.
“Why have major surgery if you don’t have to?” remarks Karen. “For me this option was the least invasive and required the shortest recovery time. Now I don’t have any problems.”