A new study published in March 2007 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reported that laparascopy-assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVM) is a safe and effective treatment for stage I endometrial cancer in women with a BMI (Body mass index) of less than 35.
In this study, laparoscopic hysterectomy was compared to abdominal hysterectomy, and it gave further evidence from previous studies on the safety and effectiveness of LAVM in early stage endometrial cancer.
Although LAVM took longer to perform than abdominal hysterectomy, the study shows that it is associated with reduced blood loss and shorter hospital stay. The recurrence rate, overall and disease free survival are also slightly lower with the LAVM method but did not show a statistical difference in the study.
This is a great option to explore with your doctor if you are considering surgery.
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Endometrial sampling or D and C (Dilation and Currettage)?
In diagnosis of uterine cancer, these 2 methods may be suggested by your doctor, but what is the difference and can you request your doctor to opt for the less invasive procedure?
Basically, the D and C method used to be considered as the gold standard for sampling the endometrium for endometrial cancer. However, it is now recognised as a blind sampling method because it often samples less than half the endometrium. After talking to an O&G (obstetric and gynaecology) specialist the other day, she told me that she would recommend her patients for endometrial biopsy (involving a pipelle) instead because it's less invasive and have a few more advantages:
1) There is no need for a general anesthetic.
2) Lower risks of infection, hemorrhage (loss of blood from bleeding).
3) Saves time for patient and doctor.
A check on the web also reveals news of a latest study, published in March 2007 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that have shown that the use of the pipelle is a very accurate endometrial sampling method.
The sensitivity of Pipelle is than 93% for low grade cancer and 99.2% for high grade cancer.
Source.
So make sure you explore this option with your doctor!
Basically, the D and C method used to be considered as the gold standard for sampling the endometrium for endometrial cancer. However, it is now recognised as a blind sampling method because it often samples less than half the endometrium. After talking to an O&G (obstetric and gynaecology) specialist the other day, she told me that she would recommend her patients for endometrial biopsy (involving a pipelle) instead because it's less invasive and have a few more advantages:
1) There is no need for a general anesthetic.
2) Lower risks of infection, hemorrhage (loss of blood from bleeding).
3) Saves time for patient and doctor.
A check on the web also reveals news of a latest study, published in March 2007 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that have shown that the use of the pipelle is a very accurate endometrial sampling method.
The sensitivity of Pipelle is than 93% for low grade cancer and 99.2% for high grade cancer.
Source.
So make sure you explore this option with your doctor!
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