By the time Brionna Johnson arrived at Loretto Hospital in Chicago, she had already heard what felt like an impossible verdict delivered over and over again. At 17 weeks pregnant, a 27 pound cluster of fibroids had developed alongside her baby, and doctor after doctor told her the only viable path was to remove the fibroids, terminate the pregnancy, and proceed with a hysterectomy.
Then she found Dr. Pierre Johnson.
The board-certified OB-GYN and fibroid specialist took on the case that even some of the most seasoned surgeons had declined. Within the past month, he successfully removed the massive fibroid cluster, preserving both her pregnancy and her uterus. Brionna is expected to welcome her baby in August.
What made this surgery possible
While fibroid removals during active pregnancies are rare, Dr. Johnson said he recognized the nature of Brionna’s case immediately. He identified it as most likely a pedunculated fibroid a fibroid that extends from the uterus on a stalk rather than being embedded within the uterine wall. That distinction was critical. Once he was able to reach and control the stalk, separating the fibroid from the uterus became the central challenge. It was a procedure he had performed many times before, and one he knew he could execute for her.
Still, the active pregnancy added layers of complexity to the operation. What also struck the physician, beyond the medical challenge, was the broader context of who his patient was and what she had already endured before reaching him.
The bias Black women face in medical settings
Dr. Johnson was direct about the systemic barriers Brionna encountered. Even after he agreed to take her case, there were internal attempts to prevent the surgery from moving forward and those efforts came without anyone even consulting him directly. For the doctor, that experience was not surprising; it was a reflection of a much larger problem within American medicine.
Black women are significantly more likely to be steered toward the most aggressive treatment options for fibroids, including hysterectomies, rather than being offered more conservative or fertility preserving alternatives. According to data from the National Library of Medicine, while Black and white women have hysterectomies at roughly comparable overall rates, fibroids are the primary driver of the procedure twice as often for Black women 61% compared to 29% for white women.
By age 50, up to 90% of Black people with a uterus will develop uterine fibroids, compared to 80% of the general population with a uterus. And they are two to three times more likely to receive a hysterectomy as treatment.
Why fibroids disproportionately affect Black women
The reasons behind these disparities are layered. Fibroids are largely genetic there is a prevalent gene across all women that codes for their development, though much about why some cases become more advanced than others remains unclear.
Dr. Johnson pointed to chronic stress as one contributing factor. Research has shown it plays a role in how fibroid-linked genes are regulated and dysregulated, and women of color experience chronic stress and microaggressions at disproportionate rates. Limited access to adequate healthcare is another piece of the puzzle, as are the generational layers of medical trauma that have shaped how many Black women engage or choose not to engage with the healthcare system.
For centuries, the medical establishment has been used against women of color in deeply harmful ways, from forced sterilizations to unnecessary hysterectomies. Those histories live on in the stories passed down through families, creating a warranted reluctance to trust medical institutions that has carried real health consequences.
There is also a generational shift in family planning to consider. More women of color are choosing to start families in their late 30s and early 40s after building their careers, which means more of them are entering pregnancy with more advanced fibroid presentations.
What Dr. Johnson wants women to know
With Brionna’s case unfolding during Black Maternal Health Week observed her story carries weight far beyond the operating room. It is both a proof of what is possible with skilled, patient centered care and a clear signal of how often that care is withheld.
Dr. Johnson, who has handled complex fibroid cases for 13 years and treats women from around the world, wants women to know that a first opinion is not always the final word. Getting multiple perspectives, seeking out physicians who align with a patient’s goals, and advocating firmly for less invasive options are all within reach even when the medical system makes that feel harder than it should be.
Brionna’s decision to keep searching until she found a doctor willing to truly look at her case is, for Dr. Johnson, the clearest example of why that persistence matters.
