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Study, 1992

Does endometrial ablation (surgical procedure to reduce periods) help PMS symptoms?

Yes. Most women with PMS who had the procedure reported either no periods or just spotting and decreased severity of PMS symptoms. The improvement seemed related to how much the bleeding decreased.

Moderate study design 108 women with heavy bleeding who had endometrial ablation; 57 met PMS criteria

What they did

108 women who had endometrial ablation for heavy periods were evaluated before and after the procedure. 57 of these women met the criteria for PMS, and 35 had menstrual symptoms but did not meet PMS criteria.

What they found

After the procedure, most women in both the PMS group and the menstrual symptoms group reported either no periods or spotting. Symptom severity decreased in both groups. The degree of improvement in both PMS and menstrual symptoms seemed related to how much the bleeding was reduced.

What it means for you

If a woman has both heavy bleeding and PMS, reducing the bleeding through this surgery may help PMS symptoms. The limitation is this study only included women who chose this surgery for heavy bleeding, so results may not apply to women with PMS but normal-level bleeding.

108

women with heavy bleeding

57

met PMS criteria

35

had menstrual symptoms only

About the study

Original title
Endometrial ablation. Improvement in PMS related to the decrease in bleeding
Authors
Lefler HT Jr, Lefler CF
Journal
The Journal of reproductive medicine
Year
1992
Study design
Study
Participants
108
What was tested
Endometrial ablation (surgical procedure to reduce or stop periods)

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