How technology helped in Valley woman's fight against fibroids

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - Today’s technology is being used to help women fight a common problem.

The pain was so unbearable; Melissa Fleishman could no longer do the things she was used to doing.

“I would go to exercise or yoga or dance class and I’d get a pain and I’d have to come home,” Fleishman said.

Fleishman, 39, was first told she had uterine fibroids when she was pregnant seven years ago.

She was told not to worry about it.

That worked until symptoms started to change her way of life. The pain felt like cramps. She was often tired.

In a 2-year period, her uterine fibroid had grown to the size of a large grapefruit.

She was only given a few options. One of them was a hysterectomy, but because she wanted more kids she sought other opinions.

Her doctor, Dr. Millie Behera, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist, sees patients with fibroids often.

Behera said, “Seventy-seven percent of women will have them during their lifetime.”

It’s an extremely common problem, she added.

Often time, women won’t even know they have them because they don’t experience any symptoms.

But fibroids can cause what she called very debilitating symptoms, like excessive menstrual bleeding and pain, which can affect daily life and affect pregnancies.

“I think the very challenging thing with fibroids is often times deciding what to do and where to seek help,” Behera said.

“In the past, it used to be that if you had a large fibroid the best option would be to remove the entire uterus,” she added.

Technology is helping women deal with this painful problem.

Behera said she is the only reproductive endocrinologist in Arizona that performs DaVinci Robotic surgeries called myomectomy.

“With the robot, everything that your hands do on the outside of the body are being translated into the body so you allow for more successful procedures with less risks and a quick recovery,” she said.

The minimally invasive surgery was perfect for Fleishman, who had it done two weeks ago and is now ready to get back to her normal routine.

“A little past two weeks and I feel so much better and so different,” Fleishman said.

The pain has gone away and her energy levels have increased.

Behera said age, not having children, race, obesity and hypertension are all risk factors for fibroids.