The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) supports the use of a new permanent contraception system in its updated guidance on female sterilisation.
The Adiana implant system from Hologic, Inc. received CE Mark approval in January 2009. It offers women a minimally-invasive, non-incision alternative to surgical sterilisation procedures.
The guidance concludes that safety and efficacy data support the use of the Adiana procedure by the NHS.
"This is an important milestone for Hologic and our GYN surgical products business in the UK," said Tony Kingsley, Senior Vice President, GYN surgical products at Hologic. "With more than 50 NHS surgeons now trained to perform the Adiana procedure, the updated NICE guidance should further support our efforts to establish Hologic's minimally-invasive, safe and effective Adiana system in the UK."
The Adiana procedure can be performed in a GP surgery, using local anaesthesia. Patients are normally able to resume activity within a day. Surgical methods of permanent contraception, such as tubal ligation, generally require hospital admission, general anaesthesia and four to five days for recovery. As a result, they pose a significant risk of complications.
During the Adiana procedure, a flexible instrument is passed through natural body openings to deliver a low level of radiofrequency energy to a section of each fallopian tube. A soft insert, the size of a grain of rice, is then placed in each fallopian tube. Over the next three months, new tissue grows around the inserts, blocking the fallopian tubes. A final X-ray test confirms that the patient can rely on the implants for permanent contraception.
US-based Hologic, Inc. describes itself as 'the women's healthcare company'. For more details, visit www.hologic.com.
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