TESTS START ON METHOD THAT MAY AVERT MANY HYSTERECTOMIES.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Some of the nation's top hospitals are beginning testing of a simple procedure that backers say could eliminate 100,000 hysterectomies a year in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . The procedure uses a catheter and balloon to heat the inside of the uterus and destroy its lining to stop excessive menstrual bleeding, the cause of 20 percent to 30 percent of the nation's 600,000 hysterectomies annually. "This would be the absolute simplest way of relieving excess blood flow," said Dr. Brian Walsh ''This article refers to the racehorse owner, not the 1997 winner of the Drumaí céilí category at the All-Ireland Fleadh Championship, from County Monaghan. Brian Walsh[1], from County Kildare, Ireland [2]is owner [3] , chief of surgical gynecology at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. "You don't need to take out the entire uterus." A hysterectomy hysterectomy (hĭstərĕk`təmē), surgical removal of the uterus. A hysterectomy may involve removal of the uterus only or additional removal of the cervix (base of the uterus), fallopian tubes (salpingectomy), and ovaries is the surgical removal of the uterus - in many cases, because of cancer, birth complications or endometriosis endometriosis (ĕn'dəmē'trē-ō`sĭs), a condition in which small pieces of the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) migrate to other places in the pelvic area. , a painful inflammation of the uterine uterine /uter·ine/ (u´ter-in) pertaining to the uterus. u·ter·ine adj. Of, relating to, or in the region of the uterus. lining. The new technique is intended only for excessive menstrual bleeding, which can cause a dangerous loss of blood. Such bleeding can also be accompanied by infections and cause women discomfort and disrupt their lives. As with hysterectomies and any procedure in which the uterine lining is removed or destroyed, uterine balloon therapy results in sterility and is only for women who have finished raising families. The technique, which is already approved in some European countries, is being tested in 13 U.S. hospitals on 250 women. The results are to be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration within 18 months. Gynecare of Menlo Park developed the procedure. |
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