vital signs: Microwave method

Microwave method

British doctors are using microwaves to treat menorrhagia (abnormally heavy periods), a condition usually affecting older women. It is often caused by thickening of the womb lining and current methods of destroying it - laser therapy or diathermy - are often ineffective.

Doctors at the Royal United Hospital, Bath, have found that using microwave energy delivered by a probe via the cervix to "cook" the inside of the womb was successful in 83 per cent of patients. The treatment can be carried out in outpatients, they say in the Lancet.