New treatment offers hope for menorrhagia sufferers

By Megan Ma, Town Crier Staff Writer

Menorrhagia is an elusive, somewhat cryptic-sounding word for a medical condition that afflicts approximately 10 million women per year in the United States.

It may seem relatively benign, but for women who suffer from excessively heavy menstrual cycles, it's a serious problem. Teresa Acosta, a Los Altos employee, was one of them.

A chronic anemic most of her life, Acosta said her heavy periods got worse after she had children. In the last three years, her heavy flows began to affect her life. She said she would plan her schedule around her periods, canceling vacations and events when she thought she might have an accident.

"I'd get anxious around special events and hope and pray my period wouldn't fall on that day. I always stayed close to home … because I was so paranoid about accidents," she said.

Some days she was so fatigued she would collapse on the sofa in the afternoon. She quickly realized that she wasn't alone. Behind closed doors, many women, including a close friend, suffered from the same problem.

"It's incredible what women go through. It affects their husbands and kids because they have to plan their schedule around this. It can get a little crazy sometimes," Acosta said.

In July 2005, Acosta's physician at El Camino Hospital, Dr. Katherine Sutherland, recommended NovaSure, a 90-second procedure to remove the lining of the uterus through an electrical pulse.

Sutherland said she is a strong advocate of NovaSure, which can be performed under local anesthesia in a doctor's office. She said the procedure is safer than a hysterectomy and other techniques for relieving excessively heavy cycles.

The success rates for NovaSure are high, Sutherland said, with 97 percent of women experiencing a significant reduction in bleeding and almost two-thirds becoming period-free after treatment.

Women who have fibroids, anemia or have recently given birth may have a higher occurrence of menorrhagia, Sutherland said. Heavy cycles can run in families and may be exacerbated after childbirth.

"Women aren't good judges of how heavy their periods are. For some, it's considered normal to change a pad every hour," Sutherland said. It's common to experience fatigue, depression or moodiness during that time.

Sutherland, who has performed the procedure since 2001, says endometrial ablative surgeries are the most effective solution to the problem.

"Endometrial ablations have lots of benefits. They allow women to avoid a hysterectomy and hormone use. They are a good alternative for those who don't want to have surgery or take birth control (for the bleeding)," she said.

Of the numerous endometrial ablation techniques, Sutherland said she recommends NovaSure most often.

During the procedure, the electrosurgical tool is inserted into the uterus, where it expands into a triangular-shaped mesh lining. The tool then removes the exact amount of endometrial lining. It is quick and relatively painless, Sutherland said, and runs a smaller risk of side effects than a hysterectomy, which is a permanent and more invasive procedure.

Clearly, NovaSure is not for women who plan to become pregnant, Sutherland said. Removing endometrium - the lining of the uterus - will make a pregnancy difficult or even dangerous, she said.

"One of the things I feel is the most damaging is the way it affects a woman's life and interferes with her ability to go on vacation and take part even in normal activities," she said.

For more information, call Dr. Katherine Sutherland at El Camino Hospital, 988-7550.

Information on this website is for educational and reference purposes only and should not be interpreted as specific medical advice.

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Women Physicians Gyn Medical Group

650.988.7550