Uterine growths can give you bad shape and cause kidney failure

Fibroids can start off pimple-sized then grow to as big as the human head, says Dr Jane-Rose Ambuchi.

"Remember, when fibroids are asymptomatic, we do not disturb them. We let them be. Some of these fibroids - especially the subserosal and pedunculated types - grow outside the uterine cavity and may not be problematic. In fact, a woman can give birth to many children even as they grow.

"However, they can grow so big that they become visible from the outside. I have operated on a woman who looked six months pregnant - with fibroids," she says.

While such fibroids are generally harmless -despite the size - they can also be dangerous to the woman's life.

"Sometimes the fibroids grow so big and press hard against the urinary bladder. This causes incomplete voiding of the bladder when the woman needs to relieve herself. Over time this will lead to conditions known as hydrouretus and hydronephrosis. And these will eventually lead to kidney failure," Dr Ambuchi says.

Such fibroids, she says, must be dealt with early and removed before they harm the patient any further.