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The long-term effectiveness of endometrial laser ablation: a survival analysis
Meena Shankar1, Nicholas J Naftalin, Nick Taub
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE2 5WW, UK.
Objectives:
To assess the long-term effectiveness of endometrial laser ablation and factors that predict long-term outcome.
Setting:
A university teaching hospital.
Study Design:
Postal questionnaires were sent to all women who underwent endometrial laser ablation between 1992 and 1998.
Results:
Of 215 patients who underwent endometrial laser ablation, 174 (80.9%) returned the questionnaire. Duration of follow-up was 1.5-9 years. The procedure was reported as a success by 138 (79.3%) and a failure by 36 (20.7%). Twenty-four patients (13.8%) subsequently underwent hysterectomy for excessive bleeding. Using survival curve estimates the percentage that remained free of failure was 95.3% at 1 year and 76.2% at 4 years. Increasing patient age was significantly associated with reduced risk of failure (hazard ratio 0.91 for every year increase in age). An inexperienced operator significantly increased the hazard of failure.
Conclusion:
Endometrial laser ablation is effective in the long-term in the majority (76.2%) of patients. Older women can expect to have a lower risk of failure.