Perioperative complication rates of primary and repeat hysteroscopic endometrial ablations.

STUDY

OBJECTIVE

To determine perioperative complication rates at primary and repeat endometrial ablations.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).

SETTING

Tertiary care teaching hospital.

PATIENTS: Seventy-five women who underwent a repeat ablation and 800 who had a primary ablation by the same surgeon (GAV) between 1990 and 2000 for a diagnosis of menorrhagia and/or dysmenorrhea.

INTERVENTIONS: Hysteroscopic ablation involving coagulation or resection of endometrium, and second ablation after failure of the first.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN

RESULTS

Serious perioperative complications were uterine perforation, hemorrhage, excess fluid absorption, and genital tract burns. They occurred in 9.3% of repeat ablations compared with 2.05% of primary ablations (p = 0.006).

CONCLUSION

Repeat endometrial ablation has a significantly higher rate of perioperative complications than primary ablation.