LUNA Procedure Relieves Pelvic Pain

Laparoscopic uterine nerve ablation (LUNA) may be an option for women who enduresevere pelvic pain during menstruation but do not have endometriosis. The keyhole surgicalprocedure destroys the nerves coming from the uterus. The New Zealand study examined theeffectiveness of LUNA for chronic pelvic pain in 123 women; 56 did not have endometriosis,and 67 had the condition.

In the patients without endometriosis, a majority who underwent LUNA reported a 50% orgreater reduction in pain 12 months later, compared with women who did not undergo the procedure.In contrast, LUNA had no benefit for women with endometriosis or nonmenstrualpelvic pain, according to findings reported recently in the British Journal of Obstetrics andGynecology (September 2004).