BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Doctors at Northwest Hospital in Baltimore are offering an innovative approach to get rid of fibroids.

It’s called acessa and many patients said it has changed their lives.

Fibroids are benign tumors in the uterus which can cause extreme pain and be very dangerous for women.

Dr. Dee Shiller decided to explore acessa to find a newer and less invasive approach. During the procedure, a doctor inserts a needle and uses heat to destroy each fibroid.

“This procedure is kind of melting the matrix of the fibroids,” she said. “There’s a lot less pain and they recover so quickly.”

Karen Fuller-Hardy reached a breaking point last summer after dealing with the pain of fibroids.

“I was bent over, excruciating pain, crying in tears,” Fuller-Hardy said. “It was pretty bad.”

Shiller is the first and only doctor in Maryland to perform acessa at Northwest Hospital, including on Fuller-Hardy.

Fuller-Hardy said it’s made an amazing difference in her life and took away the pain.

“I should have done this years ago,” Fuller-Hardy said. “I want women to know there’s other options besides going the full level of getting a hysterectomy.”