If you have suffered from pelvic pain for an extended period of time without knowing the cause, a diagnostic laparoscopy might be indicated. Women who are misdiagnosed can go through several rounds of wrong treatment, costing them time, money and possibly even worse consequences on their overall health.
If a patient has endometriosis, which is the most common cause of chronic pelvic pain, diagnostic tools like ultrasound, CT or MRI may not be able to detect the nature or severity of the condition. A diagnostic laparoscopy allows for a small thin camera to be inserted into the abdomen where the entire pelvis can be inspected and suspicious lesions can be resected for a diagnosis.
MANAGEMENT OF ENDOMETRIOSIS
Endometriosis is a unique GYN condition, hard to manage medically. Management of pain from endometriosis can be done with the help of with analgesics and hormonal suppression, which is used to treat symptoms. This however does nothing to improve fertility, treat adhesions, or resolve endometriomas.
GYN surgery is the most definitive treatment for endometriosis. The diagnostic laparoscopy will be able to determine how far the condition has spread. Surgical management can be done through endometriosis resection (also known as endometriosis excision) to improve symptoms or hysterectomy for the best long-term pain control.
Depending on the severity of the condition and the patient’s desire to preserve fertility, hysterectomy does not have to be the only option. Endometriosis removal is conservative surgery, focusing on removing endometriosis and improving symptoms, while preserving the uterus, tubes and ovaries as much as possible. This approach improves pain, but it does not cure endometriosis.
Hysterectomy with or without removal of the ovaries is for women who do not desire fertility or for women for whom conservative surgery has failed. Performing a hysterectomy will remove the uterus, and can often prevent endometriosis from returning. However, if the endometriosis has spread beyond the immediate pelvic area, or if endometriotic lesions or endometriomas are missed, there is a chance that it will continue to spread.
EARLY DETECTION & ENDOMETRIOSIS SURGERY
Endometriosis is a painful and complicated GYN condition. Getting diagnosed early is important and for patients who are found NOT to have endometriosis, the diagnostic laparoscopy may help avoid a long course of medical therapy directed toward the wrong diagnosis.
When dealing with endometriosis, surgical management by fellowship trained minimally invasive GYN surgeons is important to ensure a complete procedure with a full recovery. CIGC endometriosis specialists Dr. Paul MacKoul, MD or Dr. Natalya Danilyants, MD have performed over 20,000 GYN procedures, with remarkable results.
Book a consult today and go over your options for minimally invasive endometriosis removal or minimally invasive laparoscopic hysterectomy to relieve your symptoms. Out-of-town patients can benefit from groundbreaking procedures at The Center for Innovative GYN Care through our travel program.
LEARN ABOUT CIGC
Dr. Paul MacKoul Background | Dr. Paul MacKoul Reviews
Dr. Natalya Danilyants Background | Dr. Natalya Danilyants Reviews
CIGC Patient Story: Endometriosis
Minimally Invasive Endometriosis Surgery Gives Beth Her Life Back
CIGC Patient Story: Fibroids
CIGC Patient Story: Ovarian Tumor
Welcoming a Baby after Minimally Invasive GYN Surgery