Heavy menstrual bleeding is more than just an inconvenience. Having longer-than-normal periods and periods that result in excessive blood loss can interfere with your quality of life.
They can even cause health problems if you lose so much blood that your iron levels sink and you develop anemia.
When you can’t manage your heavy periods with medication, we may recommend a treatment known as endometrial ablation. You may wonder whether this treatment is a safe, effective way to deal with heavy periods.
Here at Virtuosa GYN in San Antonio, Texas, Susan Crockett, MD, and our team of highly trained care providers specialize in helping women whose quality of life is compromised by gynecological conditions. As such, we provide endometrial ablation for women with heavy menstrual bleeding.
Here’s some important information we put together to help you understand the safety of endometrial ablation.
What is endometrial ablation?
Endometrial ablation is a surgical treatment that destroys (ablates) the lining of your uterus. Because your uterine lining is where menstrual bleeding originates, destroying that lining leads to a reduction in monthly blood loss during menstrual periods.
We perform endometrial ablation using minimally invasive laparoscopic surgical techniques. Here at Virtuosa GYN, we use the da Vinci surgical system to perform endometrial ablation. The da Vinci system offers many advantages, including:
Minimal incisions
Unlike open surgery, the da Vinci system allows Dr. Crockett to operate through a couple of very tiny incisions, rather than a large cut.
Fewer complications
Because incisions are smaller, our patients experience less bleeding and less pain than with open surgery.
Faster healing
Recovery, recuperation, and healing from minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery is much faster than with open surgery, so you’re back home fast.
Is endometrial ablation right for you?
Dr. Crockett may recommend endometrial ablation if you have heavy periods that are interfering with your quality of life but have not responded to medical treatment.
Endometrial ablation is considered quite safe. There are risks with any kind of surgical procedure, but overall, side effects of endometrial ablation are rare.
You should be aware, though, that undergoing endometrial ablation greatly reduces your ability to get pregnant. In fact, women who would like to have children in the future should not have endometrial ablation.
But because there is a small chance that pregnancy could occur — and since a pregnancy in a woman with endometrial ablation could be unsafe for her and her baby — you should continue to use birth control after having this procedure until you reach menopause.
Help for heavy periods
If heavy periods are getting in the way of your health or your enjoyment of life, let us help. After examining you and discussing your health history and family planning goals, Dr. Crockett and her team recommend a personalized treatment plan that may include medication or endometrial ablation.
Call us today to schedule an evaluation for your heavy periods.
