Catamnestic examinations performed after the utilization of two different sterilization techniques

By using a patient questionnaire, we checked the effects on sterilization of the unipolar high-frequency current method and the endocoagulation procedure in relation to late complications. In the years following high-frequency sterilization, 23 women (8.9%) were hysterectomized; in the endocoagulation group only 9 patients (2.3%) underwent hysterectomy, primarily because of the recurrence of therapy-resistant menometrorrhagia. Of those women sterilized by the unipolar HF technique, 20 (7.8%) required 1-3 postoperative curettages, whereas only 8 patients (2.1%) of the endocoagulation group required such an operation. We found that 79 patients of the HF group (30.9%) exhibited menstrual disorders compared to only 45 women (11.7%) in the endocoagulation collective. By disregarding those patients who had taken the pill or used an IUD prior to sterilization, the corrected rates for occurrence of menstrual irregularities were 22.5% for the HF group and 5.9% for the endocoagulation group, respectively.