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Fibroid that grow in the uterus stalk is called pedunculated fibroid. If this fibroid grows outside the uterus it is called sub-serous fibroids and if it grows inside the uterus its called sub-mucosal fibroids.

The fibroids can grow to become quite large in size; among the largest reported ones I discovered was reported last year by the East African Medical Journal. A 37 year old woman had abdominal swelling that simply continued to grow. The surgeons discovered that she had a pedunculated fibroid nearly 16 centimetres in length and weighing almost a kilogram and a half.

But this woman did not have any other symptom expect swelling. But many are not so lucky with their pedunculated fibroids.

These sub-mucosal fibroid sometimes obtrude into the vaginal canal and causes pain during intercourse. The American University of Beirut Medical centre diagnosed two women with prolapsed pedunculated sub-mucosal fibroids and for another woman 12 centimeters of this fibroid had prolapsed partly into the vaginal canal and uterus.

When the stalk becomes twisted they can create great pain, and while this doesnt happen to every woman, the risk of it occurring grows with the growth of the fibroid attached to the stalk.

Other painful symptoms that are often associated with these fibroids are uterine cramps, as well as pressure on the uterus along with other organs.

Some women with pedunculated submucosal fibroids experience light to moderate bleeding throughout their menstrual cycles. Those women who experience continuous bleeding usually see an increase in bleeding during the time of their regular period.

If a pedunculated fibroid becomes twisted, the patient may need emergency surgery. The pain of a twisted peduncle can be so excruciating that the patient requests any possible procedure to alleviate it.

Another possibility that can occur when the fibroid becomes twisted is a blockage in the blood and nutrient supply to the fibroid through a kink in the veins. Once this occurs the fibroid will begin to die, which will not only increase the danger of infection, but is also quite painful.

Uterine Artery Embolization is a procedure often recommended whenever the peduncle reaches a width of 2 centimetres or more. This procedure serves the purpose of blocking the blood supply to the fibroids, thus impeding growth and causing them to decrease in size and eventually die. The University of Toronto, however, has reported that pedunculated subserousal fibroids were more likely to be effected by Uterine Artery Embolization than other types of fibroids.

Doctors at the Bretonneau Hospital in France have found that up to 10% of patients who undergo Uterine Artery Embolization for pedunculated fibroids encounter regrowth of their fibroids after 2 years. For this reason, they recommend that the procedure be repeated after 2 years.

Another common treatment for pedunculated fibroids is Myomectomy. A procedure in which the fibroid is surgically removed and the uterus repaired by the surgeon. This surgery does not, however, have a 100% success rate as Doctors at the University of South Dakota have reported a case where they attempted a myomectomy on a patient. The woman had experienced a ruptured blood vessel in a large pedunculated fibroid while giving birth. The attempted myomectomy was unsuccessful, and they were forced to perform an emergency hysterectomy instead.

Before hysterectomy surgeries, it is very reasonable to sign papers as an approval, as things may go wrong or sometimes for very few women uterus has to be removed.