What are the three types of uterine fibroids?

Uterine fibroids are one of the more common benign tumors of the female genitalia, and are more common in women aged 30-50 years old with strong ovarian function. Usually, after the age of 50, most fibroids can shrink on their own due to the gradual decline of ovarian function. Clinically, uterine fibroids can be divided into the following three types according to the location of the fibroids: 1. Interstitial fibroids: Most of the fibroids are interstitial fibroids, meaning that the fibroids are located in the myometrium of the uterus. Interstitial fibroids do not require special treatment if they are small in size and the patient has no uncomfortable symptoms. If interstitial fibroids are large in size and cause excessive menstrual flow, surgery is required to remove the fibroids. 2. Submucosal fibroids: Most or all of the fibroids are located in the submucosa, protruding into the uterine cavity, or in the uterine cavity. Because submucosal fibroids protrude into the uterine cavity or are located in the uterine cavity, they can cause excessive menstrual flow and even heavy vaginal bleeding. If the fibroid has protruded from the uterine cavity, the treatment of submucosal myoma reversal is feasible. 3. Subplasmal fibroid: refers to uterine fibroids protruding to the plasma membrane layer or located completely in the abdominal cavity with the tip. Patients with subplasmalemmal fibroids usually have no abnormal symptoms because they are far from the endometrium, so they usually do not cause clinical symptoms such as heavy menstruation and vaginal bleeding, and can be observed with follow-up. However, subplasmalemmal fibroids with tissues can sometimes twist and cause acute abdominal pain, and need to be differentiated from solid ovarian tumors and ovarian cancer. In case of torsion, laparoscopic myomectomy is required. Uterine fibroids are benign tumors and rarely become malignant. However, if the growth rate of myoma is too fast, or if the imaging examination reveals that the internal echogenicity of myoma is uneven, the boundary is unclear, and the blood flow is too rich, sometimes there is a possibility of malignant transformation, and surgery is required.