Objective: To observe numbers and trends in endometrial ablation performed for heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) in England.
Design: Examination of National Health Service (NHS) Hospital Episode Statistics. Number of hysterectomies and endometrial ablation procedures performed each year from 1989/1990 to 2004/2005.
Results: Hysteroscopic endometrial ablation peaked in 1992/1993 before falling significantly to a low in 1997/1998. Since then the total number of procedures has increased by 250% and of the 9701 endometrial ablations performed in 2004/2005 over half (5457) are now second-generation techniques.
Conclusions: Endometrial ablation is now more common than hysterectomy for heavy menstrual bleeding and second-generation methods are now more commonly performed than hysteroscopic endometrial ablation. There is every indication that endometrial ablation will continue to increase in practice in England.