Positive symptom improvement with laparoscopic uterosacral ligament repair for uterine or vaginal vault prolapse: interim results from an active multicenter trial.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the use of laparoscopic uterosacral ligament repair for long-term patient symptom improvement in patients with uterine prolapse or posthysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse and to evaluate how laparoscopic instrumentation kits facilitate procedure performance for the surgeon. DESIGN: Nonrandomized, prospective, multicenter case series (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Five clinical sites consisting of 4 community hospitals and 1 university medical center. PATIENTS: Seventy-two patients with stage II or worse uterine prolapse (58%, n = 42) or posthysterectomy vaginal vault prolapse (42%, n = 30). One patient with stage I vaginal vault prolapse was included in the group due to her significant symptoms. INTERVENTIONS: Laparoscopic uterosacral ligament repair was performed on all patients; round ligament truncation was also performed selectively on patients with uterine prolapse. Fifty-seven percent (41 patients) had concomitant pelvic procedures. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: At 12-month follow-up, Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) scores and patient self-reported symptom scores were significantly improved over baseline after laparoscopic repair of pelvic organ prolapse. Positive mean change in POP-Q score was 14.4 (p = .0003) for uterine prolapse repair and 9.28 (p = .017) for vaginal vault prolapse repair. Positive mean change in total symptom score was 20.36 (p <.0001) for uterine prolapse repair and 11.43 (p = .005) for vaginal vault prolapse repair. Surgeons reported a mean procedure time of 31.6 minutes for uterine prolapse repair and 21.7 minutes for vaginal vault prolapse repair. A mean rating of 7.5 was documented for ease of use for the uterine prolapse kit and 4.1 for the vaginal vault prolapse kit on a scale of 1 to 10. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic uterosacral ligament repair improves symptoms and POP-Q scores over the long term in patients with uterine or vaginal vault prolapse. Laparoscopic instrumentation kits facilitate procedure performance for the surgeon with expedited surgery times.

Treatment of endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain with letrozole and norethindrone acetate: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of an aromatase inhibitor, letrozole, in the treatment of reproductive-age women with endometriosis and associated chronic pelvic pain. DESIGN: Phase 2, open-label, nonrandomized proof-of-concept study. SETTING: Outpatient tertiary-care center. PATIENT(S): Ten patients with endometriosis, all previously treated both medically and surgically, with unsatisfactory results. INTERVENTION(S): Endometriosis was diagnosed by biopsy and scored from an initial diagnostic laparoscopy performed within 1 month before treatment was begun. Oral administration of letrozole (2.5 mg), the progestin norethindrone acetate (2.5 mg), calcium citrate (1,250 mg), and vitamin D (800 IU) was done daily for 6 months. Within 1-2 months after completion of the treatment, a second-look laparoscopy was performed to score and biopsy endometriosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Changes in American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) scores for endometriosis, pelvic pain assessed by visual analog scale, serum hormone levels (FSH, LH, E(2), and estrone [E(1)]), and bone density (DEXA scan). RESULT(S): No histologically demonstrable endometriosis was present in any patient during the second-look laparoscopy. ASRM and pelvic pain scores decreased significantly in response to treatment. Overall, no significant change in bone density was detected. Gonadotropin levels were not significantly altered by treatment, and although circulating E(2) and E(1) levels were reduced, the decrease was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION(S): The combination of letrozole and norethindrone acetate achieved marked reduction of laparoscopically visible and histologically confirmed endometriosis in all 10 patients and significant pain relief in nine out of 10 patients who had not responded previously to currently available treatments. On this basis, letrozole should be a candidate for the medical management of endometriosis.