Call for fewer hysterectomy ops

Too many women may be undergoing hysterectomies for heavy periods when alternative treatments should be considered first, a study suggests.

An audit of 51,500 women in England found large variations in the type of surgery done for the condition.Overall, four in 10 women had a hysterectomy, but regional figures ranged from 25% to 54%.

Experts said women may not be given enough information about the treatment options available. Heavy menstrual bleeding, also called menorrhagia, can be caused by conditions such as endometriosis, fibroids and hormonal imbalance, and can severely impair a women's quality of life.

There are drug treatments available, but if the condition continues to be a problem, national guidance recommends a type of minor surgery which removes a layer from inside the wombThis technique, known as endometrial ablation, is associated with less risk than a hysterectomy which is recommended only as "a last option".

The audit published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology looked at rates of surgery for both options between 2003 and 2006.The researchers from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) found a four-fold difference overall in the use of surgery between different primary care trusts in England.

And the proportion of endometrial ablation operations varied from 46% to 75%.

News Source : Call for fewer hysterectomy ops

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Medical Abortion Information

Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage occurs naturally without medical intervention or other procedures. On an average, about 20-25 percent of the pregnancies result in miscarriages. Among these, more than 90 percent cases occur in the first three months or 12 weeks of pregnancy, which is also referred to as first trimester. In some cases, it takes place so early that the gravida was not aware of high risk pregnancy.

In induced type, abortions are carried out by the administration of pills or surgical procedures. If the induced facts about abortion pill are for the wellness of the gravida, then it is known as therapeutic abortion. On the contrary, induced abortion performed for any other purposes is called elective abortion. Before undergoing abortion, one can opt for medical counseling about the pros and cons of abortion. The procedure of induced abortion is performed under the medical supervision of a licensed physician.

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Bleeding in Pregnancy

When a woman experiences bleeding in pregnancy, whether or not something can be done to help the baby depends on how far along the pregnancy is.

After the mid-portion of your pregnancy, if you experience premature labor there are medications that can be given in order to attempt to stop the process. Although there still needs to be improvement in these modalities, these treatments are sometimes effective.

Unfortunately, in the early stages of pregnancy these medications are usually not effective. When a woman experiences problems in the early part of pregnancy, such as pain or bleeding this could be a sign of problems.

Potential diagnoses include ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, miscarriage, or threatened miscarriage. An ectopic pregnancy is a potentially dangerous situation as this can lead to life-threatening internal bleeding.

Threatened miscarriage means that a woman is experiencing symptoms such as pain and/or bleeding, however, the pregnancy itself is unaffected. In fact, up to 20% of women who continue a normal pregnancy to the point of delivery will have experienced these symptoms of threatened miscarriage at some point earlier in their pregnancies.

In early pregnancy it is not always possible to make a speedy diagnosis. It is often necessary to observe a patient over several visits, including repeating blood work until the diagnosis can be assured.

The problem is that even if a miscarriage is suspected, there is no effective treatment to change the course of this condition in the early part of pregnancy. Later in the pregnancy, as mentioned above, medications can be given to prevent premature delivery but no effective medication is available to change the course of an early miscarriage. Hopefully this will not always be the case.

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