Analysis of pain and satisfaction with office-based hysteroscopic sterilization.

OBJECTIVE: To assess pain and patient satisfaction with office-based hysteroscopic sterilization.
DESIGN: This prospective, observational study was designed to assess patient pain perception and satisfaction with office-based hysteroscopic sterilization using the Essure device (Conceptus, Mountain View, CA).
SETTING: Faculty practice office at an inner-city urban medical center. PATIENT(S): Women seeking hysteroscopic sterilization. INTERVENTION(S): Office hysteroscopic sterilization under local anesthesia. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Pain assessed at the time of the procedure by a 0-10 visual scale and satisfaction by a 1-5 scale. RESULT(S): From June 2003 to June 2006, 209 patients were recruited. The mean scores for average procedural pain, most procedural pain, and average menstrual pain were 2.6+/-2.1, 3.3+/-2.5, and 3.6+/-2.6, respectively. Standardized pain scores revealed that 149 subjects (70%) experienced average pain that was less than or equal to the pain experienced with their menses. Mean satisfaction rating for the procedure was 4.7+/-0.71. CONCLUSION(S): Office-based hysteroscopic sterilization performed with local anesthesia alone is well tolerated, and patients are satisfied with this method for permanent sterilization. Copyright (c) 2010 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.