Dr. Lipman at the Forefront of Non-Surgical Fibroid Treatment
Twenty-five years ago, Dr. John Lipman began treating patients who were suffering from uterine fibroids in a truly revolutionary way: without any surgery. He performed the first Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) procedure in the Southeast in a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
He realized the hospital setting was unnecessary to perform the procedure in a safe and effective manner, and only added to its cost. He then transitioned to the outpatient world, and in 2015 he opened a state-of-the-art outpatient medical facility, the Atlanta Fibroid Center. This Center is a Fibroid Center of Excellence and has cared for patients from all across the United States, and prior to covid, beyond the United States as well.
A critical aspect of Dr. Lipman’s mission includes educating both physicians and the general public about fibroids and how to avoid major surgery with the UFE procedure. He strongly believes that a hysterectomy is unnecessary to treat benign uterine fibroids.
“There are so many urban myths about uterine fibroids and the UFE procedure. I spend a lot of time and energy dispelling these myths with physicians and the community at large.” Dr. lipman.
As a passionate speaker to community groups, Dr. Lipman ensures that UFE is recognized as a treatment option for fibroids, as most women suffering from fibroids only hear about the surgical choices (i.e. myomectomy and hysterectomy).
He has delivered over 200 lectures on UFE to leading medical centers, including leading institutions such as Harvard, Morehouse, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Yale Medical Centers, as well as national and international medical conferences. Dr. Lipman is truly one of the world’s leading experts in the nonsurgical treatment of uterine fibroids.
One UFE Patient’s Story
Mrs. Nicole Johnson-Sanders and Her Fibroid-Miscarriage
One of the most common myths about the UFE procedure is that if you are interested in fertility, you shouldn’t undergo UFE treatment for fibroids. Initially, Mrs. Nicole Johnson-Sanders was under this impression but was primarily focused on finding relief for her fibroid symptoms without surgery. She had tried to have children but was unsuccessful and her doctors were convinced that this was due to her fibroids. She suffered a miscarriage a year before she met Dr. Lipman.
Uterine Fibroid Embolization to Reserve Fertility
By the fall of the following year, Nicole Johnson-Sanders and her husband met Dr. Lipman and were then introduced to the work of the Atlanta Fibroid Center, and the advancements they have made in the lives of countless women suffering from uterine fibroids. The initial plan was to undergo the UFE procedure in December 2020, but unfortunately, between the covid pandemic and a Crohn’s flare-up, her UFE procedure was delayed to March 2021.
Nevertheless, the UFE procedure was performed by Dr. Lipman, which relieved the significant symptoms she was suffering from. At her routine three-month follow-up, her bleeding was lighter, and she no longer needed heavy pads or a diaper that she would typically wear on heavy days. Her menstrual pain, which was an 8 out of 10 prior to the UFE, had completely disappeared. This gave her the physical and mental energy to pursue her next goal: children!
As destiny would have it, just one month later, the Johnson-Sander’s first child, a son, was conceived. When she realized she was pregnant she was obviously elated but remained skeptical. Her only other pregnancy ended in miscarriage and she had heard that having the UFE made her a “high-risk” pregnancy and increased her risk for a low birth weight infant or other labor-related complications such as pre-term labor or preeclampsia.
These are also myths, and the result of very old, outdated studies that initially found these findings, but were later correctly assigned to the fact that these patients had previous gynecologic procedures and were of advanced maternal age; making them a high-risk pregnancy (and not due to the fact that they had a UFE procedure). Ms. Johnson-Sanders had absolutely no issues during her pregnancy.
Happy Baby Born After UFE
The baby was full-term and delivered vaginally (at 40 weeks and 4 days) as is typically the case for women who have had children following UFE. This is in contrast to pregnant patients that undergo myomectomy, who will not be allowed to deliver vaginally due to the fear of uterine rupture at the surgical site on the uterus. Ms. Johnson-Sanders is eternally grateful to Dr. Lipman at the Atlanta Fibroid Center, for not only relieving her suffering but also answering her and her husband’s prayer: the opportunity to have a child.
From all of the Staff at the Atlanta Fibroid Center, we send congratulations to your family Nicole, on your bundle of joy, and we look forward to extending congratulations to other fibroid sufferers from throughout the world that are told that surgery is their only option and that children aren’t in their future. UFE can be the answer.
UFE Treatment for Fibroids
The following facts are a few insights for interested women who are considering a UFE consultation regarding their own circumstances. Compared to surgery, uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) is:
- Safer;
- Less expensive;
- Less invasive;
- Has a much shorter recovery;
- Performed with NO hospital required;
- Performed with NO overnight stay needed;
- Performed with the opportunity to have children in the future.
For more information on UFE or to schedule an appointment, please visit our website (ATLii.com) or call Dr. Lipman and the Atlanta Fibroid Center at (770) 953-2600.
