| September 2006 · Vol. 18, No. 9 Technology Update
NEW DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE CHANGING PATIENT CARE
HYSTEROSCOPIC STERILIZATION
New devices do not require abdominal access or general anesthesia, and offer rapid recovery
Barbara
S.
Levy,
MDMedical Director, Women’s Health
Center, Franciscan Health System,
Federal Way, Wash
Dr. Levy is a member of the
OBG Management Board of Editors
and serves on ACOG’s Coding and
Nomenclature Committee. She is also
ACOG’s representative to the AMA’s
RBRVS (resource-based relative value
system) Update Committee.
|
Fast Track
Despite the misgivings of many ObGyns, these systems are easy to learn
Access to both tubes was feasible in 90% of patients
Analysis of all costs found a significant savings to the healthcare system, compared with laparoscopic techniques
RVUs depend on the setting:
-
57.91 your office
-
12.12 other facility
|
|
With over 50,000 completed hysteroscopic sterilization procedures worldwide, and 5 years of data, what do we know so far about this innovation? It is now almost 4 years since the FDA approved Essure (Conceptus; San Carlos, Calif), the first hysteroscopic sterilization method available for use in the United States. Two other systems are in the works: Adiana (Adiana; Redwood City, Calif) has completed its Phase III clinical trial and Ovion (American Medical Systems; Minnetonka, Minn) is just beginning its clinical trial this year.
|
