Objective: To compare the degree of difficulty and outcome measures of hysteroscopic myomectomy of submucous fibroid according to 2 classification systems. Methods: This prospective study conducted in the Cytogenetic & Endoscopy unit, Zagazig University Hospitals during the period from July 2009 to July 2012, included 100 patients candidates for hysteroscopic resection of submucous fibroids. All fibroids were diagnosed and assessed by saline infusion sonohysterography and diagnostic hysteroscopy. Presurgical classification was performed according to the two classification systems; the European Society of Endoscopic Surgery (ESES)–considering only the penetration of the fibroid into the myometrium – and STEPW considering size, topography, extension, penetration and wall affected. Primary outcome measure was incomplete resection of the fibroid. Secondary outcome measures were operating time (in minutes), the fluid deficit (in milliliters) and any intraoperative complications. Sensitivity, specificity and kappa measure of agreement were calculated for each classification at their best cut off. P value less than 0.05 is considered significant.
Results: Myomectomy was considered incomplete in 8 out of 104 fibroids (7.7%) According to ESES, 2 belonged to type 0 and 6 belonged to type 1.Risk ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI) was 0.56 (0.07-3.3) and the difference was not significant (p=0.7); whereas according to the STEPW classification, the incomplete myomectomies were one in group I (1/8, 12.5%) and seven in group II (7/8, 87.5%). The risk ratio (95% CI) was 0.02 (0.0-0.18) and the difference was significant (p= 0.000). Considering the area under the ROC curve, the dichotomized STEPW scores performed better than the dichotomized ESES scores (P<.001). Conclusion: The application of STEPW classification of submucous fibroid gives better prediction of myoma removal than ESES classification.