Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of in-office Thermachoice III (Ethicon, Somerville, New Jersey) endometrial ablations in resolving menstrual abnormalities as well as dysmenorrhea at 12 months after the procedure.
Study design: This was a prospective, single arm, cohort study of women from an inner city, community based, physician group medical/ surgical clinic. Diagnostic hysteroscopy, dilation and curettage, and Thermachoice III endometrial ablation were performed under local analgesia.
Results: At baseline, N = 148. At 12 months, 23 patients were lost to follow-up, leaving 125 for the evaluable cohort. The largest resulting patient category was amenorrhea, with 66.4% (83 of 125 evaluable), followed by hypomenorrhea at 31% (39 of 125 evaluable). Three patients (2.4%) were considered clinical failures. These 3 patients initially were designated as having hypomenorrhea at 3 months. Dysmenorrhea reduction was statistically significant (p < 0.05) at 6 months and 12 months as compared to baseline.
Conclusion: At 1 year after the procedure, the efficiency of in-office Thermachoice III was observed, with high amenorrhea rates as well as persistently decreased dysmenorrhea.