“Avoiding hysterectomy gave me a life back and allowed me to concentrate on my business.”

After having two children, suffering from endometriosis (a condition where tissue which lines the uterus is found outside the uterus, causing pain and scarring) and then experiencing extremely heavy periods which prevented her from leaving the house, Annie Butler had had enough.

“After the endometriosis, when my period returned, it came back with a vengeance. Every 4^th week, I wasn’t game to leave the house. I couldn’t swim, doing anything social in the evenings was a nightmare – and in the week before my period I experienced terrible mood swings.”

Visiting her gynaecologist, Annie had resigned herself to the notion of a hysterectomy – a major operation to remove her womb and cervix. A hysterectomy takes at least an hour to perform and patients can take months to recover. They also often experience strong emotional reactions and a sense of loss.

“It wasn’t an operation I wanted to undergo – my mother had one and even now experiences problems – but I thought that was the only choice if I wanted to get my life back.”

Instead her gynaecologist told her about a pioneering treatment called Microwave endometrial ablation (MEA).

MEA involves inserting a hand-held wand into the womb. The wand emits low energy microwaves which cause the tissue which lines the womb to heat, The temperature of the tissue is maintained between 70°C and 80°C – enough to remove the lining, leaving the womb intact.

It takes less than five minutes to perform and patients can be back on their feet within hours.

“Since having the MEA procedure over three years ago I have had no bleeding whatsoever. It was a day procedure, I went into hospital in the morning and although I experienced a mild pain akin to period cramps the following day, that was it.”

Annie and her husband run their own business and the MEA procedure has meant she no longer needs to worry about taking time off each month. A hysterectomy certainly wouldn’t have been good for business!

“The amount of recovery time I would have needed, on top of the actual pain and inconvenience – we really don’t have anyone who could step into the business to cover something like that. The MEA meant I was back to work quickly.”

About Microwave Endometrial Ablastion (MEA)

MEA uses a handheld wand to emit low energy microwaves to remove the womb lining quickly and safely. It was pioneered by Microsulis, a UK medical research company, and has been used to treat over 24,000 women in the UK, Canada and Australia. MEA has been recognised as ‘safe and effective’ by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK, is registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).