Availability of a multidisciplinary Pelvic Pain Clinic and frequency of hysterectomy for pelvic pain

Abstract

AbstractTwo hundred and two women with chronic pelvic pain of at least 6 months’ duration were referred to a multidisciplinary Chronic Pelvic Pain Clinic at a large military teaching hospital following negative laparoscopy. One hundred and forty patients completed evaluation and were followed for a minimum of 6 months following completion of therapy. Subjective improvement was achieved for an average of 17 months (range of follow-up 6–41 months) in only 81 (58%) of the 140 subjects. Subsequent to initiation of the clinic, however, the percentage of hysterectomies performed for chronic pain within a defined catchment area decreased from 16.3% to 5.8% (p < 0.0001). To date, only six (4.3%) of the 140 women completing therapy in the pain clinic have undergone hysterectomy. Our results suggest that the availability of a multidisciplinary clinic can reduce the utilization of hysterectomy for chronic pelvic pain.