ABSTRACT
Uterine fibroids occur in about 25% of women in the reproductive age group [1] and are the indication for about 200 000 (or one-third) of all hysterectomies in the USA [2] and 65% of hysterectomies in black women [3]. Except for the occasional submucous variety, fibroids can be asymptomatic for a long time or even forever. Just as the obstetric life of a woman can go through a normal course with an intrauterine septum discovered at caesarean section, a woman’s menstrual life can remain unaffected by fibroids which may be discovered incidentally on ultrasonography. If these are small and not of the submucous variety, it is necessary to confirm that excessive bleeding is caused by fibroids and not the result of any other pathology. Presence of a fibroid itself does not indicate hysterectomy even in elderly women, and incidental fibroids must be ignored.
