In a well-designed randomized control trial (RCT), investigators sought to determine as a primary outcome whether a Word catheter or marsupialization worked better at preventing a recurrence of a Bartholin gland cyst or abscess, sufficiently symptomatic to require treatment, within 1 year of treatment. Upon comparing women randomized to Word catheter (n = 82) or to marsupialization (n = 79), the researchers found:
There were no differences in
There were significant differences in
Women have a lifetime risk of 2% for Bartholin cysts and abscesses. Surgical excision of the gland has been replaced by marsupialization where the abscess is drained and the edges of the incision are sutured such that skin to interior is a continuous surface and an outflow tract can be maintained. In 1963, Dr.Buford Word developed a catheter that could be placed in the abscess cavity and left in situ to serve as a drain. The authors sought to compare Word catheter placement and marsupialization directly. The multi-centered study, called the WoMan trial (Word versus marsupialisation) involved 18 hospitals in the Netherlands and one hospital in England.
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