[NEW YORK] Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumors of the female genitalia and usually occur to female in 35 to 50 years old. According to statistics, women over the age of 35, about 20% of them suffer from uterine fibroids which is caused by the formation of the uterine smooth muscle cell proliferation. It is also known as uterine smooth fibroids. Uterine fibroids is more common in middle-aged women, probably associated with long-term estrogen stimulation.

Dr. Decheng Chen, a licensed acupuncturists of NY state and MD (Acupuncture), has the Western academic background and bachelor's, master's and doctor’s degree. He has more than 11 years of formal medical education and nearly 30 years of clinical experience. As an acupuncture famous scientist Professor Qiu Maoliang doctoral students, he graduated from Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and was former deputy director of the Beijing Academy of Traditional Chinese physicians. He has published "Chinese acupuncture point therapy alone" and other 15 monographs and hundreds of articles. He has visited Egypt on behalf of the country to provide the treatment of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The clinical manifestations of uterine fibroids are often associated with the location, size, growth rate, with or without secondary degeneration and complications and ect.. The common clinical phenomenon is bleeding, abdominal mass, pain, pressure symptoms of neighboring organs, increased vaginal discharge, infertility, anemia and cardiac dysfunction. But also a lot of patients does not have the above symptoms.

Dr. Chen said the typical symptom of uterine fibroids is menorrhagia which often occurs in the submucosa and intramural fibroids. It is manifested as menorrhagia, menstruation or irregular vaginal bleeding. The main cause of increased bleeding is that as the endometrial area increases, due to the role of estrogen endometrial hyperplasia and fibroids interference with uterine contractions, and it affects blood circulation leaving the intima congestion. Due to the long-term lower abdominal bleeding, patients often have varying degrees of anemia.

Followed by lower abdominal mass when intramural fibroids increases beyond the pelvis, patients with multiple palpable mass had to go to the hospital. 
Compression symptoms: lower part of the body is located in the Palace and cervical fibroids, pelvic tissues may compress nerves, causing pain in the lower abdomen and lumbar back pain. As the fibroids grow forward or backward, it may compress the bladder, urethra or rectum, causing frequent urination, dysuria, urinary retention or constipation. When fibroids grow on both sides and the broad ligament fibroids are formed, its oppression of the ureter can cause ureter or hydro-nephritis; such as the oppression of pelvic blood vessels and lymphatic vessels can cause edema.
In addition to the pain which is caused by pelvic nerve compression, the pedunculated submucosa fibroids cause contractions in the uterine cavity and cause pain. When fibroids block the cervical canal and impede the outflow of blood, it can cause dysmenorrhea.

Uterine fibroids cause a 20% to 30% of infertility cases raise, miscarriage, premature birth complications, as well as the delivery process after pregnancy. During pregnancy, affected by fibroids, it cause stomach pain and contractions.
About the treatment of uterine fibroids, Dr. Chen said: A decision can be made after a full consideration of the patient's age, symptoms, fibroid size, fertility and general health status. The temporary observation can be conducted generally when fibroids is less than eight weeks of pregnancy, with no obvious symptoms, and women near menopause uterine size of less than 12 weeks of pregnancy. Patients should adhere to reexamining once every three months. After long-term conservative treatment ineffective, or symptoms of larger fibroids, anemia and rapid growth, surgery is recommended.  Generally tradition medicine treatment is better and suitable to tumor diameter less than four centimeters.

Chinese medicine treatment adapted to the young who want to retain reproductive function. Because of infertility or miscarriage caused by fibroids, fibroids shrink after medicine treatment to promote pregnancy, the fetus survived. In addition, if the size of the fibroids are not big, pre-menopausal women with mild symptoms, can use medicine treatment to shrink uterine fibroids and get rid of surgery.
TCM acupuncture treatments applied the medicine simultaneously with acupuncture, which generates the best effect, and it will shorten the course.  Also taking prescription medicine and traditional medicine alone is also applicable. The usage of medicine differs in the menstrual period and non-menstrual medication. It must be "bleeding without leaving stasis, shrink the tumor without bleeding." Differential Treatment must be applied based on the patient's symptoms and health situation. General treatment requires to take medicine for 3-6 months or longer and do a second ultrasound every 3 months.

Dr. Chen said that there are two points in the treatment process which require extra attention. Doctor must handle the relationship between tumor shrink and hemostasis and the prescription use between the different menstrual period and non-menstrual medication. Patients have to understand that fibroids is formed in one day, therefore, it cannot achieve the rapid effects in the short-term treatment. Fibroids can disappear by the way of medicine treatment of endometriosis.  In addition, by adjusting the internal organs function, regulating blood and the reconciliation, it can control the growth of fibroids. This is a complicated, hard and long process. When fibroids shrink to a certain extent (2 / 3-1 / 3), the progress will be slower. These require the patients to have a certain mental preparation.

In our office, there was a Hispanic female patient who was 43 years old and found that uterine fibroids for four years, she has two pregnancies, but both of them aborted.  In the recent 2 years, she has symptoms frequently, such as irregular menstruation, more bleeding and the long duration, accompanied by the pain in the lower abdomen and waist bottom. She had the menstrual cycle ranging from 20-40 days and bleeding often for 7-15 days. Ultrasound has found that uterine fibroids is 4.0 X 4.0 X 3.8 cm while there is a diameter of 13 cm ovarian cyst. Abdominal palpation: cysts are visible on the left side and squeeze the uterus displaced to the right. It is a bit more in the right lower abdomen area, which could reach a rigid entity. Gynecologists recommend surgical treatment, but she wanted to keep the uterus and accept IVF pregnancy. Therefore, she came to our office to see Dr. Chen. The treatment is combined traditional Chinese medicine with acupuncture. Acupuncture was taken twice a week accompany with taking a specialized medicine called “women Jumbo”.  According to the disease and the menstrual cycle, prescription medicine is provided to relieve the bleeding and blood circulation alternately. Three months later, ultrasound fibroid size is 2.0 X 1.5 X 1.5 cm and left ovarian cysts is basically eliminated. After six months of treatment, uterine fibroids disappear completely. Menstruation went back to the normal level.

In addition to the treatment of feminine diseases, Dr. Chen Decheng also provide the treatment of facial paralysis, neck, shoulders, waist, knee pain and other pain, gastrointestinal disorders, cough, asthma, prostate disease, urinary incontinence, difficulty urinating, diabetes, numbness in the hand, cough, asthma, menstrual, menopause, gynecological inflammation, uterine fibroids, women infertility, dizziness, tinnitus, cancer, eczema and hay fever and other difficult diseases. He also has specialize in acupuncture treatment of acne, warts, alopecia, vitiligo, wrinkles, and facial elasticity.
Decheng Medical Center accepts United Health Care, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Aetna, Oxford, and the first health insurance card for elderly.

Dr. Decheng Chen’s Medical Center Address:
Midtown Manhattan: 161 Madison Ave suite 2N (between 32/33 Street). New York, NY 10016
Phone: 212-564-3324
Long Island: 1334 5th Ave, New Hyde Park, NY 11040
Website www.acupunctureland.com