News Archive Featured in the Media JeffNEWS Jefferson Fibroid Center

In recognition of a growing problem significantly affecting quality of life and fertility for many women, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has opened the Jefferson Fibroid Center. “Fibroids are non-cancerous tumors that grow in the uterus,” explains obstetrician and gynecologist Jay Goldberg, M.D., director of the Jefferson Fibroid Center. “They affect mostly women of child-bearing age.

“Problems caused by uterine fibroids may include infertility, pregnancy complications, pelvic pain and irregular bleeding. While many women with minimal symptoms may not need any treatment, others may require medical or surgical intervention, including myomectomy (a surgical removal of fibroids), endometrial ablation, hysterectomy and uterine artery embolization.

“At the Jefferson Fibroid Center, our goal is to help each woman make an informed decision,” he says.

At this multidisciplinary center, patients will be able to see the specialists from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital who are dedicated to the comprehensive treatment of uterine fibroids. This unique collaborative association of obstetricians/gynecologists, interventional radiologists, reproductive endocrinologists, high-risk obstetricians, ultrasonographers and oncologists provides women with the most state-of-the-art care for fibroids.

“ We offer a personalized approach—no treatment is right for every woman,” Dr. Goldberg says.

It is estimated that up to 70 percent of women may have fibroids. Most of these women don’t realize they have the condition because the fibroids are small and don’t cause any problems. It is the remaining women, who have at least some discomfort—ranging from mild pelvic pressure to severe pain, heavy, prolonged and painful menstrual bleeding, pain during intercourse, urinary tract infections, miscarriages and difficulty conceiving—who seek medical care.

Jefferson University Hospital is uniquely suited to have a Center where specialists concentrate on the treatment of uterine fibroids and fertility preservation, says Dr. Goldberg, who is also clinical assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Members of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Thomas Jefferson University have published extensively on the topic with a special emphasis on the effects of fibroids on fertility and pregnancy.

Most recently, in November, 2003, Dr. Goldberg was an invited speaker at the XVII Federation of International Gynecologists and Obstetricians (FIGO) World Congress in Gynecology and Obstetrics in Santiago, Chile, to discuss his research regarding pregnancies following uterine artery embolization and myomectomy.

“The Jefferson Fibroid Center offers extensive experience in assisting women who desire future fertility or uterine preservation. We provide all methods of diagnosis and treatment including expectant management, medical management, uterine artery embolization, and laparoscopic and laser surgery myomectomy,” Dr. Goldberg says.

For information or to make an appointment at the Jefferson Fibroid Center, call 1-800-JEFF-NOW. Or visit the website at www.JeffersonHospital.org/fibroid.