Get back to enjoying your life by relying on the skills of our expert physicians and specialists to diagnose and treat your endometriosis.
Although the exact cause of endometriosis isn't known, the following combination of factors are believed to cause it:
If you develop endometriosis, it usually happens years after you start menstruating. Several factors may increase your risk of developing this condition:
The endometrium bleeds the same way your uterine lining does, causing swelling and pain because the tissue is in an area where it cannot easily leave your body. You also may experience spotting between periods.
The primary symptoms of endometriosis are pain and infertility. However, symptoms vary. Some women have mild symptoms, while others experience moderate to severe symptoms.
Pain from endometriosis can be severe and may result in:
If you have endometriosis, adhesions and scar tissue may also form, causing your organs to grow together. They may bind an ovary to the side of your pelvic wall or extend between your bladder and uterus.
Endometriosis can affect your quality of life, impact relationships, and make getting pregnant difficult.
Make an appointment with your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms:
If you think you have endometriosis and have concerns, discuss them with your gynecologist or schedule an appointment with one of our endometriosis experts.
Endometriosis can be complicated to diagnose. Its symptoms often are similar to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), uterine fibroids, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBD).
Your diagnosis starts when you visit your healthcare provider and describe the symptoms you're experiencing. You may need one or more of the following diagnostic tests:
However, the only definitive diagnosis is via laparoscopy, which takes sample tissue.
If you’re diagnosed with endometriosis, the best treatment depends on your stage in life, how severe your symptoms are, and whether you want to have children.
Our skilled healthcare providers will guide you to the best choices to manage pain and fertility.
If over-the-counter pain relievers, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, don't give you relief, your doctor may recommend prescription opioids.
However, neither of these medicines will slow or prevent endometrial tissue growth.
If you’re not trying to get pregnant, hormone therapies are often the first prescribed treatment. These therapies may ease pain, slow the growth of existing and new endometrial lesions, or shrink existing ones.
Prescribed hormone treatments may stop your hormone production, may lighten or stop your periods, may prevent ovulation, and include:
When you stop taking the hormones, your endometriosis symptoms will return.
Especially during your reproductive years, surgery is often the last treatment your healthcare provider will recommend. The pain and other symptoms will be relieved but may return.
A laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgery, performed to remove lesions without harming healthy surrounding tissue.
A laparotomy is major abdominal surgery and is performed as a last resort. In addition to lesions, your surgeon may remove the uterus, called a hysterectomy; or the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes, called a total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophrectomy.
Endometriosis occurs when tissue, called endometrium, normally found in your uterine lining grows outside of your uterus, in your pelvic cavity or elsewhere. This condition affects more than 10 percent of women who are usually in their 30s and 40s.
