A review of 80 endometrial resections for menorrhagia

Abstract

To assess the efficacy of endometrial resection in treating menorrhagia. A clinical audit of 80 consecutive patients. The department of gynaecology, Ealing Hospital, London. Eighty women referred by their general practitioner with the primary complaint of menorrhagia. Endometrial resection by hysteroscopic electro-diathermy. Subjective assessment of the change in menstrual blood loss by the 75 patients, who were followed up for at least one year. Of 75 women assessed after 1 year 45 (60%) had a successful outcome and nine (12%) had 'some improvement'. There were 21 failures; 14 reported 'no improvement' initially and seven were late failures after a good result at 6 months. Fifteen underwent a second procedure with 83% success at 6 months. Complications included uterine perforation in three women, excessive glycine absorption in two, and two women had problems with haemorrhage. Four women came to hysterectomy. Endometrial resection is an effective treatment for menorrhagia. Improvements in operative technique and equipment gave better results and fewer complications in the second half of the series.