Does endometriosis need surgery?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Le Thi Phuong - Obstetrician and Gynecologist - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Ha Long International Hospital
Before deciding on the appropriate treatment option, you need to consider the possibility of future pregnancy. Some endometriosis surgeries can permanently affect your ability to get pregnant in the future, so you should talk to your doctor about what's best for you.

1. When does endometriosis need surgery?

Whether or not you should have surgery may depend on your age and medical condition. Endometriosis requires surgery when:
You have severe pelvic pain Unresponsive to medical treatments or contraindications to medical treatment Pain during sex Painful urination, blood in the urine You have trouble getting pregnant Have problems in the pelvic area that need to be removed Deep endometriosis affects the intestines, bladder, ureters Causes torsion or rupture of cysts Endometriosis in Ovarian endometriosis is a common gynecological disease today, this is a benign disease, but it causes a lot of discomfort and pain for the patient, even causing the risk of infertility in women. The cause is still unknown, so the goal of endometriosis treatment is to control the symptoms of the disease. Based on the patient's symptoms and desire to get pregnant, the doctor will recommend an appropriate treatment.

2. Endometriosis surgery

Endometriosis surgery is the removal of endometriosis and any scar tissue from your body. Methods include:
Laparoscopy . Doctors can diagnose and treat endometriosis with this procedure, using an instrument with a camera attached. This instrument has a light that is inserted into your body, along with a lens that allows your doctor to see inside your pelvic area for endometriosis. Based on the obtained images, the doctor can determine the patient's condition, the extent of the injury, and the location of the lesion to make an appropriate treatment plan. Diagnosis by endoscopy. During the surgery, your doctor will pump air into your abdomen and make a small cut to be inserted into the laparoscope. Through the laparoscope, the doctor can view the entire abdomen. This is the most reliable way to diagnose the condition. The doctor may take a small tissue sample during the procedure to determine the exact condition of the disease, whether there are cancerous cells or not. During the surgery, the patient will be under general anesthesia. Endoscopic surgery . If endometriosis is found, the doctor will perform surgery to remove the tissue growth during the laparoscopy. Your doctor will remove the tumor or burn it with a laser or other technique. Most people will feel little pain after this procedure to treat endometriosis . But many people begin to experience discomfort from their symptoms again within a short period of time, as the results after this treatment procedure may not be long-lasting.
If the affected areas are deep in your body, your doctor may recommend a tumor removal. Some studies suggest that these methods are often preferred over advanced endometriosis.
After laparoscopic surgery, you can go home the same day, but if your surgery is complicated, it will take longer. You will likely feel tired for a few days after the procedure, and your doctor may advise you not to drive for 2 weeks. You may also need to avoid sex and activities such as swimming or bathing for about 2 weeks after surgery.
When you have severe endometriosis that cannot be treated with laparoscopic surgery, your doctor will perform surgery to remove the endometriosis. This is major surgery, with a large cut in the abdomen.

During surgery for endometriosis, your doctor may remove your ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus (hysterectomy) if they're damaged and you don't plan to get pregnant in the future.
Even after surgical removal of the tumor, endometriosis can come back, causing pain. About 15% of women have endometriosis that comes back after a complete hysterectomy and both ovaries and fallopian tubes.
Laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis does not affect your fertility and gives you pain relief. About 20% to 30% of women will have endometriosis back within 5 years.
The advantage of endoscopy is faster recovery with less pain. You will likely need to stay in the hospital for a few days after laparoscopic surgery and take several weeks to recover. While recovering at home, you may be limited in some daily activities.
After surgery for endometriosis, the patient still needs medication. You need to follow the instructions of the treating doctor. In addition, patients need to build a reasonable and scientific diet to recover health soon. Absolutely stay away from stimulants such as alcohol, beer, limit fat ... do not exercise vigorously to avoid affecting the incision, do not bathe for too long and do not have early sex.
You cannot completely prevent endometriosis because it can be a congenital condition, however, you can reduce your risk by:
Regular exercise Avoid alcohol Regular physical examination to identify abnormalities. When seeing the symptoms of the disease, the patient should immediately go to a reputable facility for timely and effective diagnosis and treatment.
In order to help customers detect and treat other gynecological diseases early, Vinmec International Hospital has a basic gynecological examination and screening package, helping customers detect early inflammatory diseases Easy, inexpensive treatment. Screening detects gynecological cancer (cervical cancer) early even when there are no symptoms.
Basic gynecological examination and screening package for female customers, has no age limit and may have the following symptoms:
Abnormal vaginal bleeding Having menstrual problems: irregular menstrual cycle, irregular menstrual cycle Irregular vaginal discharge (smell, different color) Vaginal pain and itching Female clients have several risk factors such as poor personal hygiene, Unsafe sex, abortion,... Female customers have other symptoms such as: Abnormal vaginal discharge, itching, pain in the private area, abnormal vaginal bleeding.

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Article referenced source: Webmd.com