The Benefits and Limits of Laparoscopic Surgery for Uterine Fibroids

NCT ID: NCT00860002

Last Updated: 2010-06-08

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Total Enrollment

1200 participants

Study Classification

OBSERVATIONAL

Study Start Date

2009-01-31

Study Completion Date

2014-12-31

Brief Summary

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Uterine leiomyomas (i.e., fibroids, myomas) are the most common gynecologic tumors in women of reproductive age (1). Clearly, the majority of such lesions are asymptomatic (2). Symptoms directly attributable to these benign tumors represent the most common reason for laparotomy in non-pregnant women in the United States (3,4), and also in Taiwan (5). Whereas in decades past, hysterectomy was seen almost as a panacea for uterine leiomyomas, more recently attention has been paid to the development of pharmaceutical agents and less-invasive procedures (6). Frequently, such procedures are designed to retain the uterus (6). Of these, myomectomy may be a choice among the uterine-sparing treatments for symptomatic uterine myoma (7,8).

The surgical mode of access usually employed in myomectomy is traditional exploratory laparotomy or its modification-mini-laparotomy (MLT) (9) or ultra-mini laparotomy (UMLT) (10,11), though recently, laparoscopy (12-14) or a combination of laparoscopy and MLT (9), vaginal surgery (15), and hysteroscopic myomectomy (16-21) have represented valid alternatives. However, myomectomy alone provides varying degrees of symptom control and a high percentage of recurrence, not only for the tumors themselves, but also for the symptoms. For example, one study reported that symptom resolution varied from 84.0% to 100% depending on different items and 21 (19.4%) of 108 patients experienced a recurrence after an average interval of 16 months (range, 1.8-47.4 months) (22). Therefore, an alternative or additional therapy might be required to provide longer durable symptom control and minimize tumor recurrence. One of the strategies is laparoscopic uterine vessel occlusion (LUVO), also known as laparoscopic uterine artery occlusion (LUAO) (23,24).

The rationale for using LUVO in the management of symptomatic myomas is found in the successful experience with uterine-artery embolization (UAE), which was introduced in 1995 as an alternative technique for treating fibroids (25). Since then it has become increasingly accepted as a minimally invasive, uterine-sparing procedure, and studies have reported the relief of excessive menstrual bleeding or pressure in 80-90% of patients (26-32). LUVO provided similar relief of symptoms (89.4% with symptomatic improvement and 21.2% with complete resolution of symptoms) in 2001 in a 7- to 12-month follow-up of 87 patients after LUVO (33).

Since that time there has been rapid growth in the use of this treatment with various modifications, such as simultaneous accompaniment with myomectomy either through laparoscopy or ML, and there has been considerable research into its outcome (22,34-42). However, in our previous data, we found that a combination of LUVO and myomectomy provided definite effectiveness in symptom control for these women with symptomatic uterine myomas (98.1% to 100% symptom resolution depending on various kinds of items), minimized tumor recurrence, and rendered the vast majority of re-interventions unnecessary (22). Myomectomy can be performed by the laparoscopic approach or by ML when patients are undergoing the LUVO procedure. Before 2002, we often used ML to perform myomectomy (22). However, we have shortened the incision to less than 4 cm, creating ultramini-laparotomy (UMLT) to perform myomectomy (10,11,43).

Since many conservative therapies might provide less or more therapeutic effects on the symptom control and disease status, the aim of this prospective study tries to evaluate the therapeutic outcomes of these symptomatic uterine myomas after different kinds of therapies in the coming 5 years at Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Uterine Fibroids

Study Design

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Observational Model Type

CASE_CONTROL

Study Time Perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

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1

Ultramini laparotomy (UMLT) myomectomy (UMLT-M) versus laparoscopic myomectomy (LM)

No interventions assigned to this group

2

Laparoscopically aided myomectomy (LAM) versus LM

No interventions assigned to this group

3

LAM versus UMLT-M

No interventions assigned to this group

4

Mini laparotomy myomectomy (ML-M) versus UMLT-M

No interventions assigned to this group

5

Laparoscopic uterine artery occlusion with blockage of anastomosis between the uterine and ovarian vessels (LUVO) versus laparoscopic uterine artery occlusion without blockage of anastomosis between the uterine and ovarian vessels (LUAO)

No interventions assigned to this group

6

LUVO+LAM versus LUAO+LAM

No interventions assigned to this group

7

LUVO+LM versus LUAO+LM

No interventions assigned to this group

8

LUVO+UMLT-M versus LUAO+UMLT-M

No interventions assigned to this group

9

LUVO versus UMLT-UVO

No interventions assigned to this group

10

UMLT-UVO versus UMLT-UAO

No interventions assigned to this group

11

LUAO versus UMLT-UAO

No interventions assigned to this group

12

UMLT-UVO+UMLT-M versus UMLT-UAO+UMLT-M

No interventions assigned to this group

13

LUVO versus LM

No interventions assigned to this group

14

LUVO versus LAM

No interventions assigned to this group

15

LUVO versus LUAO+LM

No interventions assigned to this group

16

LUVO versus LUAO+UMLT-M

No interventions assigned to this group

17

LUVO versus LUAO+LAM

No interventions assigned to this group

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* symptomatic;
* having a wish to retain their uterus;
* an absence of previous abdominal or pelvic surgery;
* a number of visible uterine masses (myomas) less than or equal to 5 intramural or sub-serous myomas (without peduncle);
* a maximum diameter of no more than 8 cm;
* an absence of prominent or significant pelvic adhesion on clinical evaluation; AND
* at least a 2-year thorough follow-up record available.

Exclusion Criteria

* without pathological diagnosis of myoma if the specimen can be obtained; OR
* any violation the above-mentioned criteria.
Minimum Eligible Age

20 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

FEMALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital

Locations

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Peng-Hui Wang

201, Section 2, Shih-Pai Road, Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Taiwan

Central Contacts

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Wen-Hsun Chang, NB

Role: CONTACT

886921125253

Ling-Wei Yang, MS

Role: CONTACT

886928994443

Facility Contacts

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Wen-Hsun Chang, NB

Role: primary

886921125253

Other Identifiers

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VGHIRB-98-01-20A

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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