A woman's sterilisation procedure which lasts just 30 minutes has been carried out in Scotland for the first time.
The surgery-free procedure is being pioneered by a medical team in Edinburgh. The hysteroscopic sterilisations , which require no overnight stay in hospital, are carried out by inserting coils into the fallopian tubes via a small tube. As the tube is inserted through the cervix, no incisions are needed in the women's abdomen. The tiny coils prevent sperm from meeting and fertilizing an egg.
This procedure is a breakthrough in female sterilisation as it allows women to undergo sterilisation with minimum pain and disruption to their lives It has a high success rate, with only one in 1,000 patients falling pregnant compared with about one in 200 who undergo traditional sterilisation.
Following the successful pilot at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh's reproductive health outpatient department earlier this year. it has now been carried out about 20 times.
Dr Sue Milne, associate specialist in reproductive medicine at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, said: "Hysteroscopic sterilisation can be carried out without patients being admitted to hospital, and is completed within about 30 minutes. The new procedure means there is no longer the need for an overnight stay in hospital and recovery is more rapid."
April 2008
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