By Sheila Dwyer, MedTech1 Staff
Most women dread “that time of the month.” For women with excessive menstrual bleeding, the cramps, bloating, and general inconvenience that accompany most menstrual periods are only the beginning of their symptoms.
Excessive menstrual bleeding, or menorrhagia, is a medical condition that affects 20 percent of pre-menopausal women. Their period can last an unusually long seven days, their flow is so heavy that they must change their tampons or pads frequently, and they sometimes bleed so heavily that they do not want to leave the house. Excessive menstrual bleeding can lead to iron deficiency anemia as well.
Two common treatments for excessive menstrual bleeding are hysterectomy and hormone therapy. Hysterectomy cures menorrhagia, but the procedure requires a hospital stay and lengthy recovery period. Because the procedure involves removal of reproductive organs, psychological effects can also result from hysterectomy in women who have not yet reached a natural menopause. Hormone therapy is effective in treating menorrhagia but requires long-term prescription drug use.
In 1997, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the ThermaChoiceTM Uterine Balloon TherapyTM system to treat excessive menstrual bleeding due to non-cancerous causes in women who have completed childbearing.
ThermaChoice TM is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that requires a relatively short recovery period. It requires only local anesthesia and the entire process takes about half an hour.
The system works because the endometrial lining of the uterus is destroyed by heat. A deflated balloon at the end of a catheter is inserted into the patient’s uterus via her cervix. Once the balloon is in place, the doctor fills it with sterile fluid that is heated to 87 degrees Celsius. The heated balloon is left in place for eight minutes, then the fluid is drained and the balloon is removed.
Donna Vernon, who underwent the ThermaChoice TM procedure, experienced “a lot of cramping, terrible cramping … and sometimes dizziness” with her monthly period. She was not a candidate for hormone therapy due to high blood pressure, so her doctor recommended ThermaChoice TM. Because she lives on a farm, Vernon needed a solution to her condition that would allow her to be as active as possible.
Vernon’s post-procedure reaction? “I can do all the things I want to do: travel, work with the horses. I still have slight bleeding every month, but nothing compared to what I used to have.”
To find out more about the ThermaChoice TM Uterine Balloon Therapy TM system, click here.
