Pedunculated Fibroid

What Is a Pedunculated Fibroid?

Some fibroids rarely grow attached to the uterus by a thin pedicle (stalk). Fibroids growing in this way are called pedunculated fibroids. If these fibroids are subserosal, they grow towards the outside of the uterus. Sometimes intramural fibroids grow with their pedicles towards the inside of the uterus. These fibroids are called pedunculated submucosal fibroids.

In order to recognise these fibroids during the examination, the stalk between the uterus and the fibroid must be seen on ultrasound. The most important feature of these fibroids is that when they grow they may twist around themselves and cause pain in the patient that requires emergency surgery.

If severe pain occurs in a woman with a pedunculated fibroid, torsion of the fibroid (twisting around itself) should come to mind. The treatment of this situation is emergency surgery to remove the fibroid. Another important feature of these fibroids is that, as the fibroid grows over time, it may detach from its stalk and fall into another area inside the abdomen. When a pedunculated fibroid detaches from its stalk and continues to grow in another place inside the abdomen, this is called a parasitic fibroid . These fibroids can also be confused with a tumour. They are treated by removal with surgery.