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Management of Urinary Symptoms Associated with Fibroids

  • Uterine Fibroids (N Narvekar, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumours in women of reproductive age. Fibroids are linked with a variety of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Direct pressure on the bladder, but also vascular, neurogenic and hormonal changes have been proposed as underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. There is conflicting evidence in the literature regarding the association between LUTS and fibroid volume and position. Conservative management with bladder retraining, supervised pelvic floor muscle training with or without drug therapy might be used as first line. In the presence of persistent symptoms, conventional urodynamics or ideally videourodynamics might be considered before more invasive treatment. Counselling of patients prior to uterine artery embolisation, myomectomy or hysterectomy could be challenging, as it is difficult to estimate the effect of fibroid reduction or removal on LUTS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urogynaecology, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Colney Lane, Norwich, NR4 7UY, UK

    Christos Kleanthis, Martino Zacchè & Ilias Giarenis

Authors
  1. Christos Kleanthis
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  2. Martino Zacchè
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  3. Ilias Giarenis
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Correspondence to Ilias Giarenis.

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Conflict of Interest

Christos Kleanthis declares no conflict of interest.

Martino Zacchè declares travel expenses covered by Astellas.

Ilias Giarenis declares personal fees for travel expenses and a speaker honorarium from Astellas.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Uterine Fibroids

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Kleanthis, C., Zacchè, M. & Giarenis, I. Management of Urinary Symptoms Associated with Fibroids. Curr Obstet Gynecol Rep 5, 89–93 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-016-0151-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-016-0151-5

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