New alternative to hysterectomy for women with heavy periods
16 February, 2001
Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia has begun offering a treatment that is expected to decrease the hysterectomy rate for women seeking alternative treatments to surgery.
Dr Jane Wood, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with the Centre’s Women’s Health Clinic, said that the treatment, called ‘Mirena’, is a hormone-releasing intrauterine system, which can be fitted during an outpatient appointment or under general anaesthetic.
According to Flinders Medical Centre, Mirena will be a treatment option for the one in 4 Australian women who have a hysterectomy, most for menorrhagia (heavy periods), and have a pathologically normal uterus.
Many women also have a hysterectomy around the time of the menopause, often due to bleeding problems associated with perimenopause (the time before menopause) or hormone replacement therapy. This is when the Mirena can be used instead of the oral progesterone part of hormone replacement therapy, thereby reducing unpleasant side effects and irregular bleeding patterns.
The device has been available in Europe for 10 years, but has only recently been introduced to Australia and, according to Dr Wood, was originally marketed as a contraceptive.
‘However it was also found to decrease menstrual blood flow by 80 per cent in most women, and in 50 per cent, there were no periods at all, so it became used to treat menorrhagia,’ said Dr Wood.
‘I think many women will benefit from it, but especially the young who may still wish to sustain fertility but find other contraception intolerable or have heavy periods.
‘It will also provide a real alternative for women wanting contraception who have heavy periods or major medical problems and where anaesthetics and surgery are a big risk,’ said Dr Wood.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration granted approval for the registration of the Mirena IUD System on 12 July 2000, but at this stage, it will not receive a subsidy under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
Last Reviewed: 16 February 2001
