Diagnosis of Uterine Fibroids

Your health care provider may find that you have fibroids when you see her or him for a regular pelvic exam (to check your uterus, ovaries, and vagina). Often, a health care provider will describe how small or large the fibroids are by comparing their size to the size your uterus would be if you were pregnant. For example, you may be told that your fibroids have made your uterus the size it would be if you were 8 weeks pregnant.

Your health care provider can do imaging tests, or tests that create a "picture" of the inside of your body without surgery, in order to confirm that you have fibroids. These tests might include:

• ultrasound (which uses sounds waves to produce the picture)

• magnetic resonance imaging or MRI (which uses magnets and radio waves to produce the picture)

• x-rays (which use a form of radiation to see into the body and produce the picture)

• cat scan or CT (which makes many pictures of the body from different angles to provide a more complete image)

Besides imaging tests, you also might need a surgery to know for sure if you have fibroids:

• Laparoscopy is surgery with general anesthesia in which your doctor places a small tube with a light inside your abdomen to see any fibroids.

• Hysteroscopy is surgery in which your doctor inserts a long tube with a camera into the vagina and directly into the uterus to see any fibroids. It also shows any growths or problems inside the uterus.