Abstract Study design: A randomized clinical prospective comparative study.
Setting: The study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Benha University between January 2014 and December 2015.
Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of endometrial ablation using Foley’s catheter with hysteroscopic endometrial resection in the treatment of dysfunctional menorrhagia.
Patients and methods: The study comprised 100 premenopausal women with persistent intractable menorrhagia, selected under strict inclusion criteria. Patients were randomized into two equal groups of 50 patients each. Patients of the first group were treated by Foley’s catheter endometrial ablation (30 patients), while those of the other group were treated by hysteroscopic endometrial resection (50 patients). Pre and post-procedural quantification of menstrual blood was defined by pad count and self-assessment. Eighteen-month follow-up data were presented on all women and compared statistically.
Results: Eighteen-month results indicated that both techniques significantly reduced menstrual blood flow with no clinically significant difference between the two groups. Success rates, as reflected by percent of patients who returned to normal bleeding or less, were comparable being 80% for the Foley’s catheter ablation group and 86.6% for the resection group. Procedural time was reduced significantly in the Foley’s catheter endometrial ablation group. Intra-operative complications occurred in three (8.5%) of the hysteroscopic resection patients, whereas no intra-operative complications occurred in the thermal balloon group. Postoperative complications were occurred in 3 patients in each group.
Conclusion: Foley’s catheter endometrial ablation is as efficacious as hysteroscopic resection in the treatment of selected cases of menorrhagia.
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