Your questions answered on endometriosis

What are the symptoms of Endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a painful disorder that occurs when tissue similar to the lining of a woman’s uterus grows in other areas.

It can cause severe pain, with symptoms that include:

• Painful periods
• Painful bowel movements
• Pain during or after intercourse
• Fatigue
• Bloating
• Fertility issues and other complications

How is endometriosis diagnosed?

Diagnosing endometriosis can be challenging. There is no blood test for its diagnosis. Ultrasound scan can often miss less severe endometriosis and even MRI may not show smaller endometriosis lesions. Listening to the patients history and symptoms along with a careful clinical examination can give an experienced endometriosis specialist a good idea of the likelihood of endometriosis being present. In some cases, the only way to be sure, is a laparoscopy to look inside the pelvis.

At HCA UK we offer patients a range of diagnostic options, including pelvic ultrasound and specialised MRI scans, which can be help to identify abnormalities in many cases. 

Our exceptional multidisciplinary team consists of consultant radiologists – all of whom have specialist expertise in endometriosis. This is essential, not only to diagnose the extent of the disease, but also to appropriately plan surgery if required.

A normal ultrasound or MRI does not rule out endometriosis and sometimes it is necessary to carry out a laparoscopy - a minimally-invasive procedure carried out under general anaesthetic that helps to definitively diagnose or rule out endometriosis. 

Why does it take so long for endometriosis to be diagnosed in the UK?

It takes, on average, 7.5 years to reach a diagnosis of endometriosis in the UK. Mr Shaheen Khazali, believes this delay is unacceptable and in this video he talks about diagnosing endometriosis sooner.

Can You Get Pregnant With Endometriosis?

It is true that endometriosis can affect fertility in some women. It is also true that around 40% of infertile women suffer from endometriosis. But most women with endometriosis can get pregnant. How endometriosis affects a person’s fertility depends on your age, severity of the disease and whether or not endometriosis has affected ovaries or the fallopian tubes.

Is Endometriosis Genetic? Is Endometriosis Hereditary?

Genes certainly have a role to play but this is not the same as endometriosis being hereditary. first degree relatives of endometriosis sufferers are more likely to have endometriosis than their say, next door neighbour but this does not mean that they will necessarily have the disease.

What Does Endometriosis Look Like?

Endometriosis has many different appearances. Sometimes the lesions look like blisters with clear fluid inside, sometimes they are brown/black lesions on the lining of the pelvis (these are called burnt match lesions), sometimes they are white (fibrotic lesions) and sometimes they are stony hard lumps invading into various organs such as the bowel or the bladder.

Can Endometriosis Be Cured?

Yes, but I don’t like the word “cure” in this context as it is usually used for cancer and means that there are no cancer cells present in the body anymore. With good treatment, many endometriosis sufferers can lead normal lives and get their quality of life back and have a family. In my books, that means they are cured. 

Book an appointment with Mr Shaheen Khazali