Burkina Faso/ Bogodogo University Hospital: 20 kilos of fibroids removed from the uterus of a 45-year-old patient

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Extract from the article: A 45-year-old woman from Côte d'Ivoire came to Bogodogo University Hospital for treatment and underwent surgery to remove 20 kilos of fibroids from her uterus.

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A 45-year-old woman from Côte d'Ivoire came to Bogodogo University Hospital for treatment and underwent surgery to remove 20 kilos of fibroids from her uterus.

For more than twenty years, she had hoped to become a mother. But over time, pain replaced her dreams. Her belly swelled, first a little, then a lot, until it distorted her figure. She prayed, drank herbal concoctions, and tried the medications she was advised to take, convinced that healing would come in some other way. All the while, the fibroids continued to grow, discreet but relentless.

When she arrived in Ouagadougou, doctors discovered a large abdominal and pelvic mass, accompanied by severe pain and a history of infertility. Clinical examination and additional tests confirmed the diagnosis: a large polymyomatous uterus, i.e., a uterus invaded by numerous fibroids. Together, they weighed 44 pounds. It was like carrying a six-year-old child inside her, day and night.

After several discussions, the decision was made. The uterus had to be removed to save her life. The operation, performed by the obstetrics and gynecology and anesthesia teams at Bogodogo University Hospital, coordinated by Dr. Batonlma Edouard Sombié and Dr. Maxime Nakena, went well.

A hysterectomy was therefore performed, removing the fibroids and the uterus, as it was impossible to perform a conservative myomectomy, i.e., an operation that normally allows the fibroids to be removed while preserving the uterus to maintain the possibility of having children. While this procedure sealed the patient's infertility forever, it also freed her from years of silent suffering.

But this powerful medical story hides a harsher reality. If she had been able to seek medical advice earlier, this woman might not have lost her uterus. In her case, the barriers were not only medical. Culture, religion, and fear of surgery weighed heavily in the balance. She believed that prayer would suffice, that plants would do the rest.

Dr. Sombié, an obstetrician-gynecologist, insists that neither street drugs, prayers, nor herbal remedies can make a fibroid disappear. The only effective treatment is surgery, when necessary. But not all women with fibroids necessarily need surgery. The key is to seek medical advice in time, before the disease takes over. Today, the patient is slowly recovering. She may not have had the child she hoped for, but she has regained her health.

Jean ELI (Source: Bulletin Santé)