When the liquid tissue adhesive methyl-2-cyanoacrylate polymerized on the endometrium and Fallopian tube lining a temporary localized histotoxic effect was produced. The toxicity was confined to the superficial layers of cells which underwent round cell infiltration followed by fibrous tissue replacement with loss of the original epithelium. The thickness of secretory endometrium prevented damage to the basal layers and allowed the endometrium to regenerate. The basal layers of proliferative endometrium were involved in the inflammation and the endometrium did not regenerate. In the Fallopian tube the lining epithelium was permanently lost at all stages of the menstrual cycle and the tube lumen was obliterated. The polymer was eliminated from the genital tract within 16 weeks. The authors suggest that the transcervical technique of instillation described here may be developed (a) to control persistent menorrhagia, and (b) to offer a method of permanent sterilization in women comparable in ease to the insertion of an intrauterine contraceptive device.

No abstract