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. 2018 Apr 18:10:137-145.
doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S153699. eCollection 2018.

Efficacy and patient satisfaction after NovaSure and Minerva endometrial ablation for treating abnormal uterine bleeding: a retrospective comparative study

Constantine Scordalakes  1 , Robert delRosario  2 , Andrew Shimer  3 , Russell Stankiewicz  4
Affiliations

Efficacy and patient satisfaction after NovaSure and Minerva endometrial ablation for treating abnormal uterine bleeding: a retrospective comparative study

Constantine Scordalakes et al. Int J Womens Health. .

Abstract

Objective: Compare amenorrhea rate, menstrual symptoms, patient satisfaction, and adverse events in women who underwent endometrial ablation with the NovaSure versus the Minerva radiofrequency ablation systems.

Methods: We surveyed 189 premenopausal women (mean 40.8±6.2 years old) who underwent endometrial ablation for abnormal uterine bleeding using the NovaSure (n=97) or Minerva (n=92) systems, at four private US gynecology clinics, and whose procedure date was after July 2015 with follow-up ≥3 months. Women were surveyed an average of 11.3±3.9 months (range 137-532 days) after ablation.

Results: The subject-reported amenorrhea rate was 52% higher in NovaSure subjects than Minerva subjects (64% and 42%, respectively; p=0.004). Age and bleeding cyclicity did not affect amenorrhea rate in either group. Normal-to-no bleeding was reported by >90% of subjects after either treatment. NovaSure was significantly more effective than Minerva at reducing pad/tampon use in women with any residual bleeding (2.4±5.2 items/day versus 4.7±5.5 items/day, p=0.049). NovaSure was significantly more effective than Minerva at reducing premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms (p=0.019) and menstrual pain (p=0.003), and more NovaSure subjects (94%) than Minerva subjects (78%) were satisfied with clinical outcomes (p=0.003). Adverse events did not differ by treatment; three women in each group progressed to hysterectomy.

Conclusion: While overall bleeding reduction in premenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding was excellent with either endometrial ablation system, NovaSure treatment resulted in a higher patient-reported 1-year amenorrhea rate, and women with residual bleeding used fewer pads and tampons than Minerva-treated women. Additionally, NovaSure subjects reported better menstrual-related life quality and PMS symptom alleviation, and greater satisfaction with outcomes than Minerva-treated women.

Keywords: Minerva; NovaSure; abnormal uterine bleeding; endometrial ablation; premeno-pausal; satisfaction.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure All authors were principal investigators in the current study and received compensation from Hologic for participation. Dr Scordalakes is a speaker for Shionogi & Co. Ltd., and a shareholder of The Women’s Hospital (Newburgh, IN). Dr delRosario is on the speakers’ bureau for Minerva Surgical, Inc. Dr Stankiewicz is a consultant for Ethicon and for Myriad Genetics. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

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