Q: I have been married for 4 years. I am 33 years and my wife is 29 years. We have consulted the doctor for fertility. After a scan report for my wife, the doctor advised us to remove 2 fibroid tumours for my wife by laparotomy. Is it essential to do so? Is it impossible to become pregnant when my wife has fibroid? Is it dangerous to get pregnant with fibroid? Please explain.

A:Fibroids can be a cause of infertility if the other factors for infertility are ruled out. Depending upon the size and site of the fibroids, they can cause complications if the woman conceives with fibroids in the uterus e.g. abortion, pre-term delivery, red degeneration, and abnormal presentation of fetus, and complications during labour and after delivery. So it is better to remove them - again depending upon site and size. These days, the fibroids can be removed by endoscopic procedures; but you need to have that done by an expert gynaecologist laparoscopist, so that the surgery itself does not result in complications, especially if the woman gets pregnant later. Removal of fibroids does not guarantee fertility, but their removal can improve the chances of conceiving, if they were the cause of infertility.