DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am only 38, but I have fibroids that have caused me to have such heavy menstrual periods that I am anemic. I take iron, but I lose blood faster than I build it up. My doctor says the fibroids should come out, and he suggests uterine artery embolization. What can you tell me about it? My mother says I should have regular surgery and not guinea-pig treatment. – R.O.

ANSWER: Uterine artery embolization is not experimental surgery and definitely is not guinea-pig treatment. It’s a clever way to treat fibroids without surgery. A catheter – a soft tube like the kind used in heart catheterization – is inserted into a leg artery and, from there, is inched upward into the artery that supplies the uterus with blood. When it reaches the point where smaller arteries branch off to feed the fibroid, the doctor releases beads made of gelatin or plastic. Those beads cause a clot to form in the artery supplying the fibroid. Deprived of its blood supply, the fibroid withers and dies. It is either sloughed off or absorbed by the body.

Uterine artery embolization has an admirable record. The success rate ranges from 80 percent to 95 percent. It usually requires only an overnight hospital stay. Women resume all their former activities in about a week.

The procedure does not affect a woman’s hormone production.

Most treated women are still able to become pregnant after the procedure, but fertility cannot be guaranteed. It can’t be guaranteed with many fibroid-removal procedures.

There are potential complications to uterine artery embolization. Infection is possible. So too is serious clot formation. In more than 20,000 UAE procedures conducted worldwide, there have been four reported deaths. That makes it a very safe procedure.

Not every woman and not every fibroid can be treated this way. Count yourself lucky.

The fibroid pamphlet reviews this very common condition and its treatments. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue – No. 1106, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6.75 Can. with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Please give me some information on Burger’s disease. My brother has it. Is it hereditary? What is it, and what are its symptoms? – M.D.

ANSWER: There are two illnesses that sound like the name you spelled – Buerger’s and Berger’s disease.

Buerger’s disease is inflammation of arteries, almost always limited to those of the legs and sometimes the arms. It happens mostly to men younger than 45, and just about universally only to smokers. It is found more frequently in the Near, Middle and Far East than it is in North America, but it happens here too. The artery inflammation can cut off blood flow, which produces great pain. Ulcers often develop on the skin because of the diminished blood supply. In extreme cases, amputation has to be performed. Treatment is total abstinence from smoking. The role of heredity in this disease isn’t known.

Berger’s disease is a kidney disease with a possible genetic link. Its hallmark sign is blood in the urine. The blood can sometimes be visible; at other times, it can be seen only with a microscopic examination of the urine. This illness has a fairly good prognosis. Only about 20 percent of patients progress to kidney failure and require either dialysis or kidney transplant. ACE inhibitors – medicines designed to control blood pressure – are quite useful for this condition.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My husband and I have disagreed for years about swallowing mucus one has coughed up or spitting it out. Which is better? – L.M.

ANSWER: It’s not harmful to swallow mucus. Stomach acid can kill just about any germ that happens to be in it. If swallowing it makes one nauseated, discreetly spitting it out is the better course.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I heard that hot-air hand dryers in public washrooms suck up germs and deposit them on the next user. Is that true? – H.F.

ANSWER: That’s false.



Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.