Cavaterm and Thermachoice

During a period the lining of the womb comes away and is passed through the vagina with blood. Between each period the lining regrows and if this growth is excessive the bleeding will be heavy.

One way of reducing the amount of bleeding is to remove some of the lining of the uterus by heating it up to destroy part of it.

Thermal balloon endometrial ablation involves putting a small deflated balloon into the uterus through the vagina and cervix. The balloon is the filled with heated liquid and this destroys the lining.

These procedures have been shown to be safe and effective at reducing the periods with bleeding completely abolished in about half the patients who underwent the procedure. There is however a lack of data on the long term success of these procedures.

Cavaterm device showing the inflated balloon.