Gynecare UBT System Under Local Anesthesia

Numerous investigators reported that the Gynecare uterine balloon therapy (UBT) system appears to be safe and effective treatment for women with excessive uterine bleeding due to benign causes. Since the catheter has a diameter of less than 5 mm, the instrument can be inserted with minimal or no cervical dilatation under local anesthesia. We treated 39 women with the UBT, with a success rate of 88% in women followed for as long as 1 year. The first few cases were performed under general anesthesia, and the next series was done successfully with intravenous sedation. Ten procedures were performed using local anesthetic only. After oral premedication with a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug and local injection of 1% lidocaine with epinephrine 1:100,000, the technique was well tolerated by all 10 patients. No complications occurred during or after the procedure. Satisfaction of the women after 24 hours was 90%. In our experience, UBT was safe and effective, and appeared to be well tolerated when done under local anesthesia. It is well suited to be performed in an office setting, and should provide a significant cost saving for the treatment of menorrhagia compared with surgical alternatives.