Preoperative therapy in preparation for endometrial ablation

In order to improve the success of endometrial ablation for uncontrolled uterine bleeding, a variety of preoperative agents were utilized. Patients were given either no preparation, progestins, danazol or leuprolide acetate depot as preoperative therapy to determine the best way to increase the incidence of amenorrhea and to decrease the failure rates. The lowest rates were achieved with danazol or no preparation, with amenorrhea rates of 41 and 43%, respectively. The highest rates were obtained with the use of either progestins or leuprolide acetate depot, 61 and 67%, respectively. Progestin use was discontinued early in the study because of side effects, resulting in numbers too low for accurate comparison. We concluded that the use of leuprolide acetate depot in a single-dose regimen resulted in the highest amenorrhea rates, with minimal or no side effects.