Endometriosis

Treatment for endometriosis can be either medical or surgical. Various oral and injectable hormones are available to help slow the growth of endometriosis. Although significant improvement results from initial treatment in some patients, others have recurring symptoms and persistent disease. Recent studies demonstrate that endometriosis can be managed equally well with laparoscopic removal.

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Surgery

The procedure is usually done in an outpatient surgical center under general anesthesia (while the patient is unconscious and pain-free).  However, this procedure may also be done using local anesthesia, which numbs only the area affected by the surgery and allos you to stay awake.

Laparoscopic surgery uses a thin, telescope-like instrument called a laparoscope, which is inserted through a small incision at the belly button. The laparoscope is connected to a tiny video camera that projects a view of the operative site onto video monitors located in the operating room. The abdomen is inflated with carbon dioxide gas to allow your surgeon a better view of the operative area. Two or three additional small incisions are made near the laparoscope through which the surgeon inserts specialized surgical instruments. The surgeon uses these instruments to remove the endometriosis and scarred tissue around it, while preserving the uterus, tubes and ovaries. Following the procedure, the small incisions are closed with sutures and covered with surgical tape. After a few months, the healed incisions are barely visible.

How the surgery will feel:

If you are under general anesthesia, you will feel no pain during the procedure, although the incisions may throb and be slightly painful afterward.  A pain reliever may be given.

With local anesthesia, you may feel a prick and a burning sensation when the local anesthesia is given.  Pain may occure at the incision site.  The laparoscope may cause pressure, but there should be no pain during the procedure.  Afterward, the incision site may throb for several hours and may be slightly painful.  A pain reliever may be given by your physician.
In some cases, hysterectomy is recommended.