Surgical treatment is necessary for women with endometriosis

A prominent international doctor said today during the Arab Health Exhibition and Conference held in Dubai that enabling women with endometriosis to receive specialized surgical treatment can significantly reduce their pain and improve their fertility levels.

Improved diagnosis rates have enabled more women to seek treatment for endometriosis, said Dr. Tommaso Falconi, medical director at Cleveland Clinic London, who previously served as chair of the Institute for Women's Health and Obstetrics at Cleveland Clinic in the United States. It remains the "best option" to reduce pain in severe disease cases, although medications can "relieve the symptoms of the disease" in some patients.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Arab Health Conference, Dr. Falconi, who has more than 25 years of clinical and research experience in the treatment of endometriosis, added that the past ten years have witnessed an increase in the number of women diagnosed with this disease, attributing this to the improvement in awareness. Patients are increased and doctors are more eager to listen to patients, and those with uncertain symptoms are referred to more specialized tests. He said, "In the past, many symptoms of this disease were often misinterpreted, such as heavy bleeding or pain during menstruation."

Endometriosis is a disease that causes chronic and severe pain, and is represented by the growth of tissue similar to the lining of the uterus outside the uterus. These tissues bleed during menstruation and swell because the blood does not find a way out of the abdomen and may cause secretions that in turn lead to infections and the formation of blood bags.

This condition can cause symptoms including painful menstrual cramps, abdominal cramps or back pain during menstruation, as well as painful bowel disorders. Women with endometriosis may have trouble getting pregnant. This disease can not be fully diagnosed except by laparoscopy, where a small scope is inserted through an incision in the abdomen to search for endometrial tissue growing around the uterus. The surgery can be done by draining the secretions outside the body and then removing the tissue base by cutting the cyst wall by laser or electrosurgery, and the secretions can be drained from the cysts, treated with medications, and then removed later.

The method of treatment is based on the progress of the disease on a scale from the first stage to the fourth stage, according to Dr. Falconi, who added: “The first stage patient can be treated with medication or simple surgery, but advanced stages of the disease may require more complex surgery to relieve pain.”

Dr. Falconi spoke during a discussion during the Arab Health Conference held until January 31, about the relative advantages of a surgical-based treatment approach to preserve fertility in patients with endometriosis, compared to artificial insemination. While Dr. Falcone considered IVF or IVF to be effective in helping women get pregnant more often, he said the surgery "should be the first step in treating severely ill patients".

Dr. Falcone concluded: “If we focus on infertility, IVF is a relatively simple issue with less risk, but the focus is not uncommon; Many women suffer pain in addition to infertility from endometriosis, so it is not possible to separate these two symptoms, especially since the patient will want to treat them both.”

In more advanced cases, removal of the uterus and other parts of the patient's reproductive organs may be considered an option, but this option eliminates the woman's ability to become pregnant.