Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which the layer of tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus, the endometrium, grows outside of it sometimes affecting other nearby or distant organs.
The main symptoms are:
- pelvic pain during the menstrual cycle
- infertility
- formation of ovarian cysts
- gastrointestinal bleeding
- bleeding into the urinary tract
- coughing blood
Diagnosis can be suspected depending on the symptoms, but the confirmation is by laparoscopy which is a way of performing surgery. Instead of making a large cut, surgeons make tiny cuts and insert thin instruments and a camera into an area to view the internal organs and repair or remove tissue. This procedure means faster recovery, less time in the hospital, and less trauma to the body.
There is no cure for endometriosis, but the treatment options are:
- Expectant (Doing nothing)
- Medication such as hormones to slow the growth of the endometrium and medication to relieve the pain.
- Surgery to remove endometrial tissue and preserve the ovaries without damaging normal tissue.