Type 3 Submucosal Fibroid

[Justanotherdobby]

A recent MRI has shown a left anterior 1.5cm type 3 submucosal fibroid. I'm due to start my second IVF cycle in less than 2 weeks having lost two pregnancies already. The doctor didn't seem to think there was anything amiss but from research submucosal fibroids can effect implantation and increase miscarriage risk. I've had MRIs and 3D ultrasounds many times over the last few years and noone has ever picked up anything but Intramural fibroids so I don't know how long it's been there.

Has anyone been in the same position and have any advice on what to do next?

Hello,
I’m really sorry to read about your losses and the fact it looks like another curve ball in the difficult journey to conceive!

I can’t offer any advice, but wanted to follow because I am about to start IVF and hve just been told I have a 5mm Submucosal fibroid.

I haven’t spoken to a Dr yet so will report back when I do. Googling is never healthy but I couldn’t stop myself! Annoyingly this type of fibroid and be linked to implantation issues … but I suppose depending on size and location it may not?

I hope you get answers from Drs and it may be worth consulting another x

Hey @Carlotta27 thanks for your reply. I almost didn't Google as the doctor seemed so unbothered but obviously now that I have I am quite worried 😔I have asked for a call from him and my IVF clinic so hopefully I will get some answers soon, hope you do as well x

Good luck! Let me know what the dr says :) hopefully he is right and it isn’t a big problem x

Hey @Carlotta27 Just to let you know the Doctor said he could arrange a hysteroscopy but he didn't recommend it as the fibroid is small and not distorting the uterine cavity and removing it could leave scar tissue. I think I'm going to discuss it with IVF clinic but I feel slightly more reassured. Hope that helps!

Hello! Thank you for sharing your update :) I had a hycosy test done today and the Dr at the IVF clinic said a similar thing to me actually - that it didn’t look like the fibroid was distorting the cavity significantly. I’m going to follow up with my GP and see if I’m referred to a fibroid specialist in case it does grow.

I feel a bit less scared to carry on trying to concieve naturally now (as I had feared it could mean stopping trying because of the risk of miscarriage).

One dr mentioned to me that a “freeze all” cycle of IVf might be suitable as they could then reassess the fibroid before putting any embryos back in.

Best of luck to you! It feels really unfair at time that the journey to getting a baby can be so drawn out and full of curve balls for us (yet seems so simple for others) x

@Carlotta27 Best of luck to you too! Hopefully this difficult journey will just be a footnote in both of our books x

That’s a lovely way to think about it @Justanotherdobby here’s hoping we look back in this as a blip x

Hi ladies, did either of you end up going for hysteroscopic resection? What was your outcome?

Hello, hope you are all doing okay.
It turns out my submucosal fibroid was just 5mm. Luckily I had private health insurance and had a free hysteroscopy, however on the day, the Dr didn’t end up removing it at all as he said that it looked like it wasn’t impinging and he’d rather not operate if not necessary. So mine was left in place and had not been deemed an issue. Im aware everyone’s case is different, so hope that gives a bit of an example of how things can play out!

Thank you for your reply, it's interesting they decided to leave it. Did you end up being able to conceive? I realise that could be impacted by 1000 things.

My submucosal is more like 1.5cm in diameter.

Hi there, my fibroid as 1.5cm but wasn't distorting the uterine cavity so I was advised by my clinic that it didn't need to be removed. I went on to have another IVF cycle last October and I'm now 6 and a half months pregnant with a baby boy so doesn't look like it affected my fertility :-)

That's so wonderful. Congratulations!

@sirensong Thank you, all the best!

Hi Everyone.

ive been going through secondary Infertility for 4 years and IVF for 2. 3 years ago my scan showed an area impinging on my uterine lining. It was ignored. Later that year I got diagnosed with adenomyosis before starting IVF. I followed the right protocol etc with down regulation and immunes but we still lost our 4 th transfer at 10 weeks in January. I then ended up under an NHS gynae and he said he would have a go at removing the area and hoped it was an adenomyotic cyst he could resect. In May of this year I had it done and he said he removed a number of polyps too (not sure when these appeared as I’ve have 2 hysterscopy and 1 lap before). Anyway I didn’t go back to IVF due to a family breavement. Recently we’ve been thinking about it again so I got a repeat ultrasound to see how everything looked and as I expected the fibrous type area is there! It’s probably a type 2 because it does impinge on the cavity but isn’t huge and most of it’s in the muscle. If I have it removed I’ll have to go private and have 2 surgeries likely cost 8k and we are already so much in! I don’t know if it’s causing the losses. I’ve had so many doctors to say leave it and it can cause issues in the muscle and other doctors to say it needs removing immediately :( I’m so confused and upset. I’ve only got a year left on my IVF package so time is tight. X

Hi @Loz2467 Firstly I'm so sorry you've experienced losses, I know how heartbreaking that can be. I'm no expert but from what you've described and the advice I was given, the fibroid should be removed especially if it's encroaching on or distorting the cavity. The fibroid I had was type 3 but not distorting the cavity and I was eventually able to have my son but only after 2 miscarriages so I do wonder if I'd had it removed if I could have avoided the losses.

@Loz2467 How large is it and do you know where exactly it is in your uterus (posterior, anterior, fundus etc)?

It's so difficult to make decisions when different consultants say opposite things about this.