Radiofrequency endometrial ablation - new possibility of heavy menstrual bleeding conservative treatment

Abstract

Objective: Evaluation of radiofrequency endometrial ablation (RFEA) clinical efficacy in patients with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB).

Design: Original article.

Setting: Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Hospital and Masaryk University Medical School, Brno.

Methods: Study included 20 patients with HMB who had failed hormonal therapy and met the study inclusion criteria. All RFEA procedures were performed in the operating theater in general anesthesia by two experienced surgeons according to a standardized protocol. All RFEA were performed using specific disposable electrodes and radio frequency generator M-3004 (RF Medical Co., South Korea). Study outcomes were evaluated three months post-surgery included percentage of women with amenorrhoea or menstrual bleeding persistence measured by the modified Pictorial Blood Assessment Chart (PBAC) score. Furthermore, chronic pelvic pain intensity assessed by visual analogue scale (VAS), patient satisfaction (Patient Global Impression of Improvement, PGI-I score), and the incidence of complications were evaluated.

Results: All RFEAs were performed without operational or technical complications, the average age being operated was 43.0 ± 2.9 years and the operating time did not exceed ten minutes. In the early postoperative follow-up, patients did not require any analgesics and were all released to outpatient care the following day. Percentage of amenorrhea at three months post-treatment was 35.0%, mean PBAC score for women with menstrual bleeding was 1.8 ± 0.6. Patients satisfaction with the treatment was evaluated by 1.6 ± 0.6 on the PGI-I scale and long-term pelvic pain was on average 2.1 ± 0.8 by VAS, which counts an improvement of 31.0%.

Conclusion: The HMB treatment with RFEA achieves good clinical results in three-month evaluation with objective and also subjective parameters. The technique is suitable for outpatient treatment and is an alternative to hysteroscopy endometrial ablation. Its wider clinical usage is limited by the high cost of the radiofrequency generator and disposable probes. Keywords heavy menstrual bleeding, hysteroscopy, radiofrequency endometrial ablation, amenorrhoea, complication.

Keywords: amenorrhoea; complication; heavy menstrual bleeding; hysteroscopy; radiofrequency endometrial ablation.