LONDON, Mar 20, 2002 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Thousands of British women have lost their wombs in operations that could have been avoided, research findings showed Wednesday.

The research focused on 20,000 hysterectomies in a single year in the mid-1990s, but found the trend continued in later years.

A new study based on research at several leading centers across Britain, authored by Dr. Mike Maresh of St Mary's Hospital in Manchester, found 20,000 of an estimated 75,000 hysterectomies performed on women during a single year in the mid-1990s could have been avoided. In certain cases, women also had their ovaries removed unnecessarily, the study found.

Maresh found most women had their wombs removed after they reported abnormal bleeding. But experts interviewed for the study said 75 percent could have been treated with less radical methods.

"Things have got better since the mid-1990s," Maresh said, referring to the 1994-95 study, "but there is still probably room for improvement."

Experts interviewed for the study said the trend had continued in subsequent years.

Interviewed by the British Broadcasting Corp., Maresh said, "Hysterectomy needs to be at the bottom of the list when a patient comes to the doctor -- other options should be discussed first."

He cited recommended uses of a heated probe to remove the layer of cells in the womb that cause excessive bleeding or the insertion of a coil that released hormones with the same overall effect.

He admitted neither of those methods was as effective as the removal of the womb, but both were likely to pose fewer risks. Experts who surveyed 37,000 cases found 14 women died after hysterectomy and one in 10 experienced complications after the operations. One in 130 had to undergo a second operation, with further risks.

The study led to renewed calls for new guidelines for doctors, and more carefully considered advice for women who needed treatment

"The availability of newer, less invasive techniques for the treatment of heavy periods needs further consideration," said a spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and gynecologists.

He echoed industry-wide calls for national guidelines for both women and doctors.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said it had asked the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to look at alternative treatments, particularly endometrial ablation.

"Hysterectomies should not be undertaken without a sound reason following a full discussion between the woman and the doctor, enabling her to make an informed decision about the best course of treatment," the spokesman said. But neither the government nor NICE had any immediate indication national guidelines could be enforced in the near future.

Last month, a report from the Royal College of Radiologists and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said too many doctors readily performed hysterectomies on women who suffered from fibroids, a common gynecological condition.

It recommended as an alternative the use of Uterine Artery Embolization, in which the fibroids are starved of their blood supply by blocking the supplying arteries with small particles.

The report said more than 7,000 UAE procedures treating fibroids had been undertaken since 1991 with a success rate of up to 91 percent.

　　From Healthy.net