When you visit the Fibroid Clinic at Mayo Clinic, you'll find a team of compassionate doctors who are experts in the full range of care options. These doctors are committed to finding the best solution for you and working with you to develop a personalized care plan.
Uterine fibroids are noncancerous (benign) growths in or around the uterus. Fibroids are common and usually occur between the ages of 30 and 40. Black women are more likely to have fibroids — and more severe symptoms — than are white women. Signs and symptoms of uterine fibroids can include heavy or painful menstrual bleeding, a sensation of pelvic pressure or fullness, compression of the bladder or bowels, and difficulty with fertility.
In many situations, fibroids don't require treatment. For those who have troublesome symptoms, effective treatment options are available. Medications may be helpful to improve heavy bleeding, and nonsurgical approaches can decrease bleeding and shrink fibroids. Surgical therapy to remove the fibroids or uterus is sometimes the best option. Fibroids can be located in different parts of the uterus, and the approach to treatment may vary depending on their size and location and your treatment goals.
Virtual visits
Virtual consultations are a useful option, especially if you're considering traveling to Mayo Clinic from a long distance. These discussions between you and a gynecology specialist can be done over the phone or by videoconference before an in-person visit. You can talk with a doctor about treatment options and plan next steps based on your condition and treatment goals.
If possible, the Fibroid Clinic staff will help arrange any necessary imaging tests or exams that can be completed locally. These results and images can then be sent for review before you make the trip to Mayo Clinic. And the Fibroid Clinic team can help you arrange any necessary follow-up tests — such as blood tests, pelvic ultrasound or MRI — here at Mayo Clinic in coordination with an in-person visit to the Fibroid Clinic.
If you are already sure about which procedure or surgery is right for you after completing your virtual visit, it may be possible for the Fibroid Clinic team to help you reserve a date for this while planning the remainder of your evaluation.
In-person visits
After your initial virtual discussion, you might decide to travel to Mayo Clinic to meet with one or more members of the Fibroid Clinic team. Team members include minimally invasive gynecologic surgeons, reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialists, interventional radiologists, and others as needed.
At your in-patient visit, you'll talk with your doctor, who will review your initial test results and might suggest additional assessments, such as a pelvic exam, endometrial sampling or hysteroscopy.
Individualized treatment
The Fibroid Clinic at Mayo's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, offers a full range of noninvasive and minimally invasive treatment options for fibroids. In addition, its staff members are equipped to address serious or complex medical needs.
You may benefit from nonsurgical approaches to manage fibroid symptoms, such as drugs to reduce the amount of blood flow during periods, injections to shrink fibroids or medications to control pain. You might also benefit from radiologic procedures to treat fibroids, such as uterine artery embolization or focused ultrasound surgery. Talk with your doctor about the benefits of each of these approaches and possible side effects.
Together, you and your doctor will look at the range of treatment options, including innovative minimally invasive surgical approaches. Then once all your questions are answered, you and your Fibroid Clinic care team develop a treatment plan that fits your needs and goals.
Considering surgery
If surgery is the best option for you, you'll consult with a surgeon with advanced training in the surgical care of the female reproductive system (gynecologic surgeon). The clinic's surgeons are experts in the most advanced treatment options, including:
- Radiofrequency ablation
- Myomectomy — surgery to remove large fibroids that protects the ability to get pregnant
- Hysterectomy — surgery to remove the womb (uterus)
- Advanced hysteroscopic and laparoscopic surgery
Offerings at Mayo Clinic sites
Each Mayo Clinic site — Scottsdale, Arizona, Jacksonville, Florida, Rochester, Minnesota — has an excellent team of highly skilled gynecologists who specialize in the treatment of uterine fibroids. The specific procedures offered at each site may vary. So if you have a particular treatment in mind, it may be a good idea to contact the Mayo Clinic site nearest you for more information.
Available at each of Mayo Clinic's three campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota:
- Advanced hysteroscopic fibroid surgery
- Advanced laparoscopic/robotic and open fibroid surgery to remove fibroids or the uterus
- Uterine artery embolization in collaboration with interventional radiology colleagues
Additionally available at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida:
- Vaginal radiofrequency ablation procedure
Additionally available at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota:
- Laparoscopic and vaginal radiofrequency ablation procedures
- Focused ultrasound surgery in collaboration with radiology colleagues
- Reproductive medicine treatments in collaboration with the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Research to improve outcomes
Mayo Clinic doctors and scientists are widely acknowledged leaders in fibroid research. They develop new solutions that improve treatment. You may be offered the opportunity to be part of a research study related to fibroids when you are seen in the Fibroid Clinic. See a list of publications about fibroids by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.
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