Analysis of pain and satisfaction with office-based hysteroscopic sterilization
Mark Levie1, Gil Weiss1, Bente Kaiser1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women's Health, Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.
Objective:
To assess pain and patient satisfaction with office-based hysteroscopic sterilization.
Design:
This prospective, observational study was designed to assess patient pain perception and satisfaction with office-based hysteroscopic sterilization using the Essure device (Conceptus, Mountain View, CA).
Setting:
Faculty practice office at an inner-city urban medical center.
Patient(S):
Women seeking hysteroscopic sterilization.
Intervention(S):
Office hysteroscopic sterilization under local anesthesia.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Pain assessed at the time of the procedure by a 0-10 visual scale and satisfaction by a 1-5 scale.
Result(S):
From June 2003 to June 2006, 209 patients were recruited. The mean scores for average procedural pain, most procedural pain, and average menstrual pain were 2.6+/-2.1, 3.3+/-2.5, and 3.6+/-2.6, respectively. Standardized pain scores revealed that 149 subjects (70%) experienced average pain that was less than or equal to the pain experienced with their menses. Mean satisfaction rating for the procedure was 4.7+/-0.71.
Conclusion(S):
Office-based hysteroscopic sterilization performed with local anesthesia alone is well tolerated, and patients are satisfied with this method for permanent sterilization.
