Decreasing Postoperative Pain Following Endometrial Ablation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Destruction of the endometrial lining to control bothersome uterine bleeding has been implemented since 1937. Currently there are various different 'second generation' energy sources to avert such bleeding, five of which are now approved in the United States. These 5 second generation devices include: Thermachoice/Cavaterm, which use high temperature fluid within a balloon; Microsulis, which applies microwaves; Novasure, which uses bipolar energy; Hydrothermablator, which uses free fluid at high temperatures; ELITT, which uses laser thermotherapy; and HerOption, which uses cryoablation. Patient selection for endometrial ablation is crucial, as it is intended for premenopausal women with normal uterine cavities and no desire for future fertility that are affected by heavy menstrual bleeding. Since the introduction of the initial 'second generation' device in 1997 these modalities have overtaken the industry mostly due to their ease of use and shorter operative times. Regardless, a Cochrane review finds insufficient evidence to prove superiority of these newer modalities over the traditional 'gold standard' resectoscopic technique.

Endometrial ablation has been demonstrated in a variety of settings including outpatient surgical centers as well as physician's offices. Evidence suggests that microwave endometrial ablation under local anesthesia is a safe and acceptable practice. Very often, when endometrial ablation is performed as an outpatient procedure, patients are pre-medicated and then receive a paracervical injection of local anesthesia to control pain intraoperatively. When endometrial ablations are performed as an outpatient procedure through a surgical center, a variety of anesthesia techniques are employed depending on the infrastructure and human and institutional resources available. These techniques may vary from conscious sedation to general anesthesia, all of which have been proven to be acceptable methods.

In this center endometrial ablations are performed as an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia with a variety of induction techniques and intraoperative pain management practices. According to physician preference, patients may receive an additional paracervical injection of local anesthetic before the procedure, immediately after, or not at all. To date, there are no studies evaluating the efficacy of local anesthetic in addition to general anesthesia for patients receiving endometrial ablation to guide physician practice. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of local anesthetic, in addition to general anesthesia, in our large, community-based patient population, in meaningfully decreasing postoperative pain.