THE history of medical science is strewn with examples of instruments or treatments originally conceived to help one condition that ended up providing a breakthrough for another. That’s exactly what happened with the award-winning Helica Thermal Coagulator, created by Edinburgh engineer Maurice Howieson in 1993 to stem internal bleeding.
Following trials in Glasgow, it was discovered that the instrument can also be used to treat endometriosis, a painful and distressing gynaecological disorder that afflicts mainly young women and can lead to infertility. Before the laparoscopic helium ablation (LHA) procedure, there were few effective treatments, and the statistics around the operation speak for themselves: 71 per cent of patients had their symptoms reversed after three months.
It’s clearly a positive story all round. Which makes you wonder why so many women in Scotland with endometriosis are not given access to this effective treatment. At present only five health boards offer the procedure – NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, alongside Lanarkshire, Forth Valley Lothian and Tayside. This means swathes of the country, including the Highlands, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, as well as Ayrshire, are not able to offer the operation to women suffering from the condition.
This seems particularly unfair since hospitals across England are routinely offering the treatment.
Mr Howieson should be congratulated for inventing the Helica, as should Dr Robert Hawthorn, who spotted its potential for treating endometriosis and pioneered the LHA procedure in Glasgow. We can only imagine that both would want to see as many women as possible given access to their treatment.
With this in mind, we would urge those health boards not offering the procedure to examine the reasons why they are unable to do so and look to rectify the situation. Scotland has a long history of pioneering advances in medicine. The least we should surely be able to expect is that people here are given the chance to benefit from them.
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