Treatment Option Offered at
Penobscot Bay Ob/Gyn Associates
Can Help 1 in 5 Women

Heavy menstrual flows is not something women want to talk about. And now it's something they don't have to struggle with, either.

Penobscot Bay Ob/Gyn Associates, a department of Penobscot Bay Medical Center, offers a minor surgical procedure that can help women with the challenge of heavy menstrual flow. An alternative to hysterectomy, this uterine balloon therapy is an eight-minute treatment option that removes the lining of the uterus.

"This procedure is ideal for women who struggle with bleeding problems," said Dr. Katherine A. Killoran, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Penobscot Bay Ob/Gyn Associates. "We find it has a high patient satisfaction level."

Known as called Gynecare Thermachoice III, the procedure resolves heavy menstrual periods (clinically known as menorrhagia) due to benign causes in premenopausal women who have completed childbearing. Unlike hysterectomy, which takes out the entire uterus, the Thermachoice device treats only the lining of the uterus with heat through a process called endometrial ablation.

Thermachoice has been used by physicians for more than eight years and has been used in more than half a million women worldwide. It is now being used during a minimally invasive 8-minute treatment that can be performed with a local anesthetic and sedation in the Day Surgery department at Penobscot Bay Medical Center, with most women returning to their normal activities by the next day.

"We find this is a good way for many women to end excessive periods," said Dr. Killoran. "More than 1 in 5 women experience heavy periods. Thermachoice can help them with a simple, one-time, minimally-invasive procedure."

Thermachoice is covered by most health insurance plans. For more information about Thermachoice or other women's health issues, Penobscot Bay Ob/Gyn Associates at 596-8900. The procedure is performed at PBMC by obstetrician/gynecologists Dr. Katherine A. Killoran, Dr. Thomas J. O'Connor, III and Dr. Candace Keene.