Postmenstrual phase reduces cost of ablation: no endometrial prep.(News)

LAS VEGAS -- Performing microwave endometrial ablation in the immediate postmenstrual phase without standard endometrial preparation reduced costs without decreasing effectiveness and patient satisfaction, Dr. Stuart A. Jack reported at the annual meeting of the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists.

He studied 197 women with dysfunctional uterine bleeding who were randomized to either standard pretreatment with 5 weeks of Danazol to reduce uterine size or to ablation conducted during the postmenstrual, proliferative phase of their cycle (days 3-10) without pretreatment.

Pain scores at baseline were the same in both groups, except for toothache, which did not seem to be related to uterine bleeding.

Scores for pain and bleeding decreased significantly in both groups after ablation.

One year after treatment, 61% of the 100 women in the Danazol group and 57% of the 97 patients in the postmenstrual group reported amenorrhea, according to Dr. Jack of Aberdeen (Scotland) Royal Infirmary.

Quality of life scores, which were ...