The most effective treatment for uterine polyp sometimes involves removal of the uterus. However, the polyps can also be removed through cauterization.
The choice of treatment depends on the woman’s age, the presence or absence of symptoms, whether she takes hormonal medications or not. Therefore, treatment for polyps can be:
1. Maintain vigilance
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In most cases, the doctor may indicate observation of the polyp for 6 months especially when there are no observed symptoms such as prolonged bleeding, intermenstrual cramps or discharge with bad smell. In such cases, the woman should visit the gynaecologist for consultation every six months so as to check whether the polyp is increased or decreased in size. This approach is done mainly to young women who do not present any symptoms that are related to uterine polyp.
2. Surgery to remove the polyp
Polypectomy through surgical hysteroscopy may be indicated for all healthy women. This is because polyps can hinder the possibility of getting pregnant. Surgery for the removal of the uterine polyp can be done using local anaesthesia and it involves removal of the polyp and its basal layer as this will decrease the risk of developing cancer.
In women who are in the postmenopausal stage, uterine polyps do not usually exhibit any symptoms. However, they may cause vaginal blood loss in some women. In such a case, polypectomy is the effective treatment and after wards, the polyp rarely returns, but there the risks of developing cancer are still high. The only way to know if the uterine polyp is malignant is through performance of biopsy, which is a process that should be performed on all women who have developed polyps after menopause. The older the woman, the higher the chances of developing endometrial cancer.
3. Removal of the uterus
This is a treatment option for women who do not wish to have more children, and they experience intense symptoms and they are advanced in age.
However, this surgery is not recommended for young women who have not yet given birth. For them, only the uterine polyp should be removed through cauterization and polypectomy, which will also remove its implantation base.
The doctor and the patient should discuss the possibilities of treatment, taking into account the risks of developing cancer, experiencing unpleasant symptoms and their desire to become pregnant. The doctor should reassure the patient and inform them that even after removal of the polyps, they may still reappear. However, there is a greater possibility of this happening in young women who have not yet reached menopause and who present symptoms. This is because, the uterine polyps rarely reappear after menopause.
What is the risk of uterine polyps turning into cancer?
Uterine polyps are benign lesions that rarely become cancerous, but this can happen when the polyp is not removed or when it not removed from the implantation base. Women who have a higher risk of developing uterine cancer are those who have been diagnosed with uterine polyp after menopause and they do not present any symptoms.
Signs of improvement
For women who are asymptomatic, the signs of improvement can only be observed during an examination where the doctor will observe whether the uterine polyp has decreased in size. Women who have symptoms such as abdominal bleeding, the signs of improvement may include normalization of menstruation.
Signs of worsening and complications
The signs that the condition is worsening is when there is an increase in intensity of menstrual flow or vaginal flow between two menstruations. In such a case, the woman should return to the doctor for check up upon noticing these symptoms, so as to check whether the uterine polyp has developed into cancer. This is the worst complication the endometrial polyp can cause.
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