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Dr. John Lipman, a trailblazing physician with an unwavering commitment to women’s health, is saving the lives of so many women with painful fibroids. Dr.Lipman has one of the largest worldwide experiences of a procedure called uterine fibroid embolization, also known as UFE. Uterine fibroids most commonly affects African American women and its development has not only made treatment for fibroids safer and less invasive, but also provided an aid against racial disparities in healthcare.

Fibroids are the most common benign tumors in the pelvic region. They will press and disrupt neighboring organs, causing health issues. Symptoms vary depending on the size and location of individual fibroids.

The importance of keeping your uterus is often under-appreciated by many gynecologists. They often tell patients that are not interested in fertility that they no longer need their uterus. Hysterectomies are the most common treatment for benign fibroids, especially for black women. Research shows that hysterectomies cause major bone loss, incontinence, low libido, and increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke.

Dr. Lipman shares that hysterectomy should be a last resort option for fibroids. UFE is a much better option for women with fibroids but most are completely unaware of this option. Hysterectomy is an expensive procedure that affects an average of young adult women less than the age of 40.

Despite its effect on 26 million people, very little research has been done for fibroids. In 2020, $18 million was spent on fibroids research with 80% of African American women being most affected. Cystic fibrosis, a common health issue in white women, generates about $90 million a year, affecting about 30 thousand people.

Dr.Lipman states that hysterectomies are an unnecessary procedure and most women suffering with fibroids never hear about UFE. With the known facts of the painful recovery process, many with fibroids choose to go untreated. This causes mental health problems, feelings of fatigue, and intense menstrual cycles due to large amounts of blood loss.

UFE is a 30-minute procedure at the Atlanta fibroid center. The patients are discharged after several hours at the Center. The recovery at home is typically 4-5 days. It’s covered by insurance with a short recovery time of several hours to five days. Patients have the ability to cover treatment with insurance and discharge the same day of procedure–with just a bandaid. It has a 90 percent success rate with only one procedure needed. Other methods such as Myomectomy take months of recovery time. Fibroids are surgically cut for removal and unfortunately, many patients wake up and still have fibroids in their uterus.

Medical studies show that in patients under 40 years of age, other benefits of UFE are that it does not affect childbearing in women and it does not cause menopause. UFE has allowed many women the pleasure of childbirth but it could affect childbearing as well as myomectomy surgery. In his experience of about 10,000 patients, UFE has never caused a woman to enter menopause if she was less than 40 years of age at the time of the UFE. Women over 40 years of age have gone into menopause but it is very unusual, approximately 2 percent, overall. With this knowledge, he strives to educate women on healthier options of healthcare.

According to Dr. Lipman, Gynecologists are the gatekeepers of health and he believes doctors purposely neglect sharing all treatment options because they are surgeons wanting to operate. He states that “keeping it under wraps is doing a huge disservice to women”–especially African American women who tend to get fibroids earlier and bigger than most.

As the medical field and healthcare industry continues to advance, UFE research has proven to be a positive contribution to the lives of many women who suffer with fibroids. Outside of the office, Dr. Lipman participates in community service and other philanthropic efforts to aid African American communities. Further information or consultation regarding UFE can be found on The Atlanta Fibroid Center website Atlii.com.

You can connect with Dr.Lipman @dr_lipman on Instagram or watch him perform the procedure in over 300 videos on the Atlanta fibroid center on YouTube!

Photo Credits: Courtesy Of Dr. John Lipman