Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Thermal Balloon Endometrial Ablation for Patients with Menorrhagia / 中国微创外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of thermal balloon endometrial ablation (TBEA) for patients with menorrhagia. Methods From February 2004 to January 2008,105 women with menorrhagia was admitted to our hospital and treated by TBEA. The clinical data,including menstrual cycle and blood volume,as well as TBEA complications such as abdominal pain,infection,bleeding and conglutination,were followed up for a long period in the patients. Results Among the 105 patients,two were lost for follow-up,and one died of malignant tumor of the urinary system in 56 days after the TBEA,the other 102 (97.1%) patients achieved an follow-up for 3 (102 patients),6 (101 patients),12 (99 patients),24 (66 patients),or 36 months (51 patients) succesively. At each of the time point,the success/amenorrhea rates were 93.1% (95/102)/38.2% (39/102),93.1% (94/101)/33.7% (34/101),91.9% (91/99)/32.3% (32/99),93.9% (62/66)/34.8% (23/66),and 92.2% (47/51)/31.4% (16/51),respectively. No severe perioperative complications such as perforation of the uterus and adjacent organs,massive bleeding or infection due to mechanical or thermal injuries occurred. After the operation,11 (10.5%) patients had uterus contraction-like pain,which was relieved by analgesic drugs within 6 hours;8 (7.9%) patients had adhesion of the tissues around the cervix uteri and/or uterine cavity,4 of them were cured by dilation of the uterus,3 received surgical separation,and 1 underwent resection of the uterus. No significant difference in the effective rate and rate of amenorrhea was found between the 36-and 12-month follow-up results (?2=0.000,P=1.000 and ?2=0.014,P=0.906,respectively),or between 24-and 12-month follow-up results (?2=0.034,P=0.854;?2=0.114,P=0.736). Conclusion TBEA shows good long-term efficacy and safety,as an applicable alternative in the treatment of menorrhagia.