Heavy bleeding during your menstrual period can disrupt your day-to-day activities. Needing to change your sanitary pad or tampon every one to two hours makes it difficult to do other things. Additionally, losing that much blood can cause anemia. In some cases, endometrial ablation may be the most appropriate solution.
A heavy period may also be one that lasts longer than normal. If your period lasts more than eight days, it is not considered normal.
Usually, it’s preferable to treat heavy bleeding or long periods with medication. However, medication isn’t always an effective treatment approach.
Destruction of the endometrium
Your endometrium is a thin layer of tissue that lines your uterus. When you get pregnant, the egg implants in the endometrium. Contrarily, when you don’t get pregnant, your body sheds the endometrium each month during your menstrual period.
Endometrial ablation is the destruction of your endometrium to treat excessive blood loss during your menstrual period. You may have a much shorter period or stop having a period at all after having endometrial ablation.
The procedure does not require a surgical incision; the doctor performs it through your vagina. The doctor can use various methods to perform endometrial ablation.
Common methods of endometrial ablation
Our doctors carefully think about many things before suggesting the best way to help you. The most common options for the procedure are:
- Electrosurgery: Tools heat up and carve furrows in your endometrium
- Cryoablation: Extreme cold is applied in cycles to destroy the endometrium
- Free-flowing hot fluid: Heated saline is circulated in your uterus
- Thermal balloon: A device is placed into your uterus and then inflated with heated fluid
- Microwave: Microwaves heat and destroy your endometrium
- Radiofrequency: Radiofrequency energy vaporizes the endometrium
Endometrial ablation isn’t for everyone
Although you keep of your reproductive organs following endometrial ablation, you may have difficulty getting pregnant. If you do become pregnant, the risks are much greater. You may want to discuss sterilization or long-term birth control before undergoing endometrial ablation.
If you’re not sure whether you want to have children in the future, endometrial ablation is not a good option for you. Other people who should not have the procedure include women who:
- Are postmenopausal
- Have an increased risk of uterine cancer
- Have uterine cancer
- Have an active pelvic infection
The team at the IBI Healthcare Institute uses state-of-the-art techniques to ensure your safety, and problems are rare. However, the procedure does come with some risks. For instance, you may experience pain or bleeding, or other organs might become damaged. Your doctor discusses all of the risks and benefits with you before the procedure.
The results
You’re likely to experience some discharge for a few weeks after having endometrial ablation. Over time, however, you’ll notice that the procedure reduces the amount of blood you lose during menstruation. You may have lighter periods, shorter periods, or stop having a menstrual period altogether.
If you’ve struggled with heavy bleeding or periods that last a long time, talk with an expert about whether endometrial ablation might be a solution for you. Book an appointment at IBI Healthcare Institute online or by phone. Our staff is happy to answer your questions.
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