Uterine diseases
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Follow the links below to find trusted information about uterine diseases.
Last reviewed: May 2018
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Hysterectomy
A hysterectomy is an operation to remove the uterus (womb). Hysterectomies may be performed because of abnormal or heavy bleeding, prolapse, fibroids or other gynaecological problems including cancer.
Read more on SA Health website
Transvaginal (urogynaecological) surgical mesh hub | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
This information hub aims to help the Australian public find information and support related to transvaginal (urogynaecological) surgical mesh devices.
Read more on TGA – Therapeutic Goods Administration website
Brain Foundation | Blepharospasm
Blepharospasm Blepharospasm (Benign Essential Blepharospasm) Description Benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions and spasms of the eyelid muscles
Read more on Brain Foundation website
Uterine Cancers - Information, Treatment & Support - CanTeen
Uterine cancers are condition impacting women that start in the endometrium and muscle layers. Learn more about causes, diagnosis and treatments with CanTeen.
Read more on CanTeen website
Uterine Cancer - Just Diagnosed | Counterpart
Uterine Cancer - Just Diagnosed | Counterpart
Read more on Counterpart - Women supporting women with cancer website
Prolapsed uterus - Better Health Channel
The pelvic floor and associated supporting ligaments can be weakened or damaged in many ways, causing uterine prolapse.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
Prolapsed uterus - myDr.com.au
A prolapsed uterus (uterine prolapse) is when the uterus (womb)drops down from its normal position. Itmay cause no symptomsbut if troublesome can be treated with self-care measures,
Read more on myDr website
Menstruation - abnormal bleeding - Better Health Channel
Heavy or abnormal periods may be an indication of other health problems.
Read more on Better Health Channel website
New mums: your body after birth | Raising Children Network
New mums, your body has been through a lot. Heres all you need to know about vaginal bleeding, afterpains, nipples and breasts, continence and weight.
Read more on raisingchildren.net.au website
Pregnancy: Vaginal Bleeding | myVMC
Vaginal bleeding can occur early in thepregnancy (spotting) or late (antepartum haemorrhage) and should be investigated by a medical professional.
Read more on myVMC – Virtual Medical Centre website
Top results
Acupuncture for uterine fibroids | Cochrane
There is no reliable proof of effectiveness of acupuncture for uterine fibroids due to lack of randomized controlled trials up to now.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Mifepristone for uterine fibroids | Cochrane
Uterine fibroids arealso known as uterine leiomyoma,myoma or fibromyoma and are non-cancerous benign growths in the uterus. Fibroids are the most common benign tumours in females and are typically found during the middle and later reproductive years. Common symptoms include heavy bleeding, menstrual pain, pressure in lower abdomen, infertility or miscarriage. Fibroids can be treated with surgery using either myomectomy (removal of fibroids leaving the uterus in place) or hysterectomy (removal of uterus). Drugs such as mifepristone have been suggested as a therapeutic option. This review includes three trials and 112 women with uterine fibroids under mifepristone treatment. These clinical trials included a small number of participants and show limited methodological quality. The studies included in this review show that mifepristone had a moderate effect in relief of bleeding and showed an improvement in fibroid-specific quality of life. Determination of the effects of mifepristone on uterine fibroid volume requires much larger trials to draw a confident conclusion for mifepristone in clinical use.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Aromatase inhibitors for women with uterine fibroids | Cochrane
Uterine fibroids are the most common benign tumours in women of reproductive age. By causing heavy or irregular bleeding, subfertility or pelvic pressure symptoms, uterine fibroids have a major impact on women's health and on their quality of life. Traditional surgical treatments have a high recurrence rate and high risk of postoperative complications (e.g. pain, infertility); therefore, safer and more effective medical therapy has been sought. It has been suggested that aromatase inhibitors may shrink uterine fibroids by blocking the production of oestrogen. A review of the evidence was conducted by researchers in The Cochrane Collaboration, who searched in August 2013 for all relevant randomised controlled trials and found only one eligible study.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Progestogens or progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems for uterine fibroids | Cochrane
Uterine fibroids are common premenopausal benign uterine tumours. Treatment of uterine fibroids includes surgery, medical treatment, or both. Progestogens can be administered by various routes such as orally and by injection. Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA is a synthetic progesterone hormone given by intramuscular injection that may inhibit uterine fibroid growth. The progestogen-releasing (levonorgestrel) intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) is a device placed inside the uterus that releases the hormone progesterone and can cause endometrial suppression. In this review, three randomised controlled studies were included. Two randomised controlled studies included 131 women and evaluated the beneficial and harmful effects of the LNG-IUS compared with hysterectomy or a low dose combined oral contraceptive (COC). However, the results were from only one study that compared 29 women with an LNG-IUS versus 29 women with COC for treating uterine fibroids. The LNG-IUS appeared to reduce menstrual blood loss and increase haemoglobin levels in premenopausal women with uterine fibroids. Reduction of fibroid size was not significant. In one study that included 56 women treated with preoperative oral progestogens (lynestrenol) compared with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist, the uterine fibroid size was not different. There was no randomised controlled study of DMPA to treat uterine fibroids. The included studies were of poor quality and had small numbers of participants. Indeed, the authors did not recommend the use of progestogens or progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems in treating premenopausal women with uterine fibroids. More high quality randomized controlled studies evaluating progestogens or progestogen-releasing intrauterine systems for treating uterine fibroids that have an adequate sample size are needed.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Herbal preparations for the treatment of women with uterine fibroids | Cochrane
Uterine fibroids are benign (non-cancerous) growths in the uterus. They are the most common type of growth found in a woman's pelvis, being present in about one in four or five women older than 35 years. Although many women with fibroids are not aware of them, the growths may cause symptoms or problems due to their size, number, or location. Common symptoms can include longer or more frequent menstrual periods, heavy bleeding, menstrual pain, pressure in the lower abdomen, infertility, or miscarriages. Women with these symptoms may require treatment. Fibroids can be treated with surgery, such as myomectomy (removal of the fibroids while leaving the uterus in place) or hysterectomy (removal of the uterus). Another approach is uterine artery embolization, by which the blood vessels to the uterus are blocked. Drugs such as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists may be used to shrink fibroids and to control bleeding.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Danazol for treatment of women with symptoms caused by uterine fibroids | Cochrane
There is no evidence from randomised controlled trials demonstrating that the benefits of danazol outweigh its risks in treating uterine fibroids. Danazol is a synthetic isoxazole derivative chemically related to 17-ethinyl testosterone which creates a high androgen and low estrogen environment, resulting in the wasting of endometrium and shrinkage of fibroids. Despite its benefits, various undesirable side effects have also been reported. These include acne, hirsutism (excess hair in females, with an adult male pattern of distribution), weight gain, irritability, musculoskeletal pain, hot flushes, and breast atrophy, which many women may not tolerate. The review found no evidence demonstrating that the benefits of danazol outweigh the risks in treating uterine fibroids.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) for uterine leiomyomas | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Interventions to reduce haemorrhage during myomectomy for treating fibroids | Cochrane
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Microwave therapy for cervical ectropion | Cochrane
In western countries, cervical ectropion or erosion caused by the movement of columnar epithelium onto the vaginal portion of the cervix is considered a normal physiological process not requiring intervention. In China, however, cervical ectropion is considered as one of the most common types of chronic cervicitis and is often treated. One of the topical treatments widely used is microwave tissue coagulation (MTC). From Chinese databases, the authors identified 131 potential randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs) that compared microwave therapy to no treatment or other treatments. Only three of these studies involving a total of 540 participants were identified as RCTs. Two studies (420 participants) compared MTC versus laser, and one study (120 participants) compared MTC with an interferon-alpha suppository. The follow-up period of the RCTs was adequate. None of the studies assessed relief of symptoms or quality of life and satisfaction, which are very important to women. The authors of the review considered that they could not answer the review question about the appropriate use of microwave therapy as only these three low quality RCTs were found. Although the trials showed improved appearance of the cervix with microwave treatment compared with the control therapy, it was not possible to ascertain whether the women were symptomatic before treatment. The review protocol also required participants to be symptomatic with mucopurulent discharge or to have contact bleeding before treatment. At present, intervention for inflammatory cervical ectropion is still controversial.
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
Transvaginal mesh or grafts compared with native tissue repair for vaginal prolapse | Cochrane
Should transvaginal mesh or biological grafts or native tissue be utilised to repair vaginal prolapse?
Read more on Cochrane (Australasian Centre) website
