MAIN RESULTS For the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea there is some evidence of the effectiveness of uterine nerve ablation ( UNA ) when compared to a control of no treatment .
The comparison between UNA with presacral neurectomy ( PSN ) for primary dysmenorrhoea showed no significant difference in pain relief in the short term , however long term PSN was shown to be significantly more effective .
The treatment of UNA combined with surgical treatment of endometrial implants versus surgical treatment of endometriosis alone showed that the addition of UNA did not aid pain relief .
For PSN combined with endometriosis treatment versus endometriosis treatment alone there was also no overall difference in pain relief , although the data suggests a significant difference in relief of midline abdominal pain .
Adverse events were significantly more common for presacral neurectomy , however the majority were complications such as constipation , which may spontaneously improve .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS There is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of nerve interruption in the management of dysmenorrhoea , regardless of cause .
BACKGROUND Dysmenorrhoea is the occurrence of painful menstrual cramps of uterine origin and is a very common gynaecological complaint .
Medical therapy for dysmenorrhoea includes oral contraceptive pills ( OCP ) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDS ) which both act by suppressing prostagl and in levels .
While these treatments are very successful there is still a 20 - 25 % failure rate and surgery has been an option for cases of dysmenorrhoea that fail to respond to medical therapy .
Uterine nerve ablation ( UNA ) and presacral neurectomy ( PSN ) are two surgical treatments that have become increasingly utilised in recent years .
These procedures both interrupt the majority of the cervical sensory nerve fibres , thus diminishing uterine pain .
Uncontrolled studies have supported the use of these procedures for primary dysmenorrhoea however both operations only partially interrupt some of the cervical sensory nerve fibres in the pelvic area ; therefore dysmenorrhoea associated with additional pelvic pathology may not always benefit from this type of surgery .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of surgical interruption of pelvic nerve pathways as treatment for primary and secondary dysmenorrhoea , and to determine the most effective surgical treatment .
Follow-up report on a randomized controlled trial of laser laparoscopy in the treatment of pelvic pain associated with minimal to moderate endometriosis.
OBJECTIVE To assess the longer term efficacy of laparoscopic laser surgery in the treatment of painful pelvic endometriosis and to observe the natural history of the disease at second-look laparoscopy in a control group . DESIGN One-year follow-up of a prospect i ve , r and omized , double-blind controlled trial . SETTING A referral center for the laparoscopic laser treatment of endometriosis . PATIENT(S ) Sixty-three patients with pelvic pain and minimal to moderate endometriosis . INTERVENTION(S ) After the 6-month follow-up visit , the r and omization code was broken , and follow-up was continued to 1 year . Symptomatic patients were offered second-look laser laparoscopy . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S ) Continued symptom relief at 1 year after treatment and findings at second-look laparoscopy in symptomatic controls . RESULT ( S ) Symptom relief continued at 1 year in 90 % of those who initially responded . All symptomatic controls had a second-look procedure , with 7 ( 29 % ) showing disease progression , 7 ( 29 % ) showing disease regression , and 10 ( 42 % ) having static disease . CONCLUSION ( S ) The benefits of laser laparoscopy for painful pelvic endometriosis are continued in the majority of patients at 1 year . Untreated painful endometriosis will progress or remain static in the majority of patients but will spontaneously improve in others
MAIN RESULTS For the treatment of primary dysmenorrhoea there is some evidence of the effectiveness of uterine nerve ablation ( UNA ) when compared to a control of no treatment .
The comparison between UNA with presacral neurectomy ( PSN ) for primary dysmenorrhoea showed no significant difference in pain relief in the short term , however long term PSN was shown to be significantly more effective .
The treatment of UNA combined with surgical treatment of endometrial implants versus surgical treatment of endometriosis alone showed that the addition of UNA did not aid pain relief .
For PSN combined with endometriosis treatment versus endometriosis treatment alone there was also no overall difference in pain relief , although the data suggests a significant difference in relief of midline abdominal pain .
Adverse events were significantly more common for presacral neurectomy , however the majority were complications such as constipation , which may spontaneously improve .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS There is insufficient evidence to recommend the use of nerve interruption in the management of dysmenorrhoea , regardless of cause .
BACKGROUND Dysmenorrhoea is the occurrence of painful menstrual cramps of uterine origin and is a very common gynaecological complaint .
Medical therapy for dysmenorrhoea includes oral contraceptive pills ( OCP ) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDS ) which both act by suppressing prostagl and in levels .
While these treatments are very successful there is still a 20 - 25 % failure rate and surgery has been an option for cases of dysmenorrhoea that fail to respond to medical therapy .
Uterine nerve ablation ( UNA ) and presacral neurectomy ( PSN ) are two surgical treatments that have become increasingly utilised in recent years .
These procedures both interrupt the majority of the cervical sensory nerve fibres , thus diminishing uterine pain .
Uncontrolled studies have supported the use of these procedures for primary dysmenorrhoea however both operations only partially interrupt some of the cervical sensory nerve fibres in the pelvic area ; therefore dysmenorrhoea associated with additional pelvic pathology may not always benefit from this type of surgery .
OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of surgical interruption of pelvic nerve pathways as treatment for primary and secondary dysmenorrhoea , and to determine the most effective surgical treatment .