Uterine fibroids can significantly impact your menstrual cycle, often leading to distressing symptoms like painful cramps and heavy bleeding. In some cases, fibroids may also affect vaginal discharge—whether you’re dealing with untreated fibroids or recovering from treatment.
In this post, we’ll explore various factors related to fibroid discharge, including changes in color, the differences between discharge after fibroid embolization versus surgery, and practical steps to manage or stop fibroid discharge.
Fibroid discharge is vaginal discharge caused by the presence of uterine fibroids. It can vary in consistency and color, often being watery and sometimes tinged with pink due to light bleeding or spotting. Between your periods.
Depending on their size and location, uterine fibroids can cause changes in your discharge, or increased vaginal discharge, throughout your menstrual cycle.
Following treatments like Uterine Fibroid Embolization (UFE) or myomectomy surgery, you may also experience fibroid sloughing—a process where fibroid tissue is shed through discharge during recovery.
Fibroid sloughing, or the passing of pieces of dead fibroid tissue, typically begins with cramping pain and the release of larger blood clots, usually within 10 weeks of undergoing UFE.
What does fibroid discharge smell like? Sloughing can sometimes be accompanied by an unpleasant smell. However, any foul-smelling discharge may indicate an infection, so it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider right away to avoid complications.
Yes, it is possible to pass a fibroid. Approximately 2.5% of women who undergo UFE may pass some fibroid tissue or partial pieces of the tumor following their procedure. However, passing an entire fibroid through the vagina, known as fibroid expulsion, is extremely rare.
What does passing a fibroid look like? When this happens, you may notice dark, clotted discharge from the vagina, which cab resemble heavy menstrual bleeding. You may also notice fragments of tissue mixed in with the discharge.
While you may experience fibroid sloughing after UFE, you may also experience fibroid discharge after myomectomy surgery. For the first one to two weeks post-surgery, expect bleeding and discharge ranging from reddish-brown to dark brown in color. Spotting is also common, and the timing and flow of your menstrual cycle may be temporarily altered. Your first few periods may arrive earlier than usual and may be heavier than normal.
Fibroid discharge often stops on its own, but you can make yourself more comfortable during the sloughing process by resting and following your doctor’s post-procedural care instructions. However, if your fibroid discharge has an unpleasant odor, notify your doctor right away, as it could be a sign of infection. In rare cases, excessive discharge may be a sign of incomplete passage of the fibroid, which may require a medical procedure to fully address.
While some women experience fibroid sloughing and discharge following UFE or myomectomy, it’s a temporary and uncommon side effect. More often, women experience relief from fibroid-related symptoms such as pelvic pain, back pain, and heavy bleeding during menstruation.
Interested in learning more? Request a consultation at the Georgia Fibroid Institute to explore your treatment options with our experts.
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