CUSA For Endometriosis

Fifteen percent of all women will be diagnosed with endometriosis before reaching menopause. It occurs when tissue that lines the uterus grows outside the uterus. For women with severe endometriosis, surgery using lasers is often used. But a new tool being tested in Tennessee is proving safer for some women.

For Jami, bringing her baby into the world hasn’t been easy. Before Kattie was born, Jami went through two miscarriages. Then the pain started and Jami discovered she had a severe case of endometriosis. But thanks to a new procedure, she’s free of it now.

Jami, Endometriosis patient:

“The dull, aching, just intense, drive-you-crazy-pain that I was dealing with on a daily basis was gone and it was just immediate and the healing was very fast.”

Doctors at Vanderbilt Medical Center tested a new tool on Jami called the cavitational ultrasonic surgical aspirator or CUSA. The probe has a hollow tip that vibrates so fast it produces an ultrasonic wave. Doctors say it blasts the cells with minimal side effects.

Infertility Specialist:

“For the patient with infertility, who has infertility and pelvic pain as a result of endometriosis, it’s crucial to have surgery that will on one hand get rid of the endometriosis but on the other hand spare her genital tract.”

This is what the CUSA looks like in operation.

Doctors say it works better than lasers because it not only minimizes tissue damage to the genital tract but also minimizes blood loss.

For Jami, the device made it easier to conceive her first child.

Jami:

“I feel like if I went with a different type of procedure the scarring would have maybe prevented me from having my daughter and I have her now as a result.”

Doctors say the problem with the device is its cost. The unit alone, which received FDA approval in 1995, can run more than 80-thousand dollars.