What is Endometriosis?
Endometriosis Institute
Endometriosis is a disease affecting women and is characterized by the growth of the uterine lining (endometrium) outside of the uterus. The uterine endometrium during the first half of the menstrual cycle increases in thickness and during the second half, acquires a spongy-like consistency to facilitate embryo implantation. If there is no pregnancy, the uterine endometrium sheds along with the menstrual blood during the menstrual period. The same cyclic changes also occur in the endometrium of endometriosis which causes bleeding into the abdomen or other organs, inflammatory reaction, development of adhesions (scar tissue), or appearance of cysts filled with blood which, over time, acquire a consistency of liquid chocolate (chocolate cysts).
Did you know?
That Endometriosis can be a cause of a variety of symptoms and health issues including chronic pains, heavy menstrual periods and infertility? Or that Endometriosis can spread from the reproductive organs to other parts of the body including urinary bladder and intestines? Endometriosis can be treated through a number of methods resulting in the lessening or cessation of pains as well as the other symptoms of the disease. Learn more about your options from Dr. Dmowski at the Endometriosis Institute. Contact him at or by calling .
Recurrent Endometriosis Prevention
Recurrence of endometriotic lesions is stimulated by estrogens, the female hormones produced by the ovaries. During the normal menstrual cycle, blood levels of estradiol (the main estrogen) fluctuate between 40 and 400 pg/mL. These levels are necessary to achieve pregnancy but they also contribute to the recurrence of endometriosis.
Read More About Recurrent Endometriosis PreventionAdvanced Laparoscopy
Laparoscopy is the primary surgical choice for diagnosing and treatment for endometriosis. Laparoscopy involves inserting a tiny telescope connected to a camera called a laparoscope through a small incision in the umbilicus in order to view the reproductive organs. Laparoscopy makes examination of the abdominal cavity possible without a large abdominal incision.
Learn More About Advanced LaparoscopyManaging Pelvic Pain
About 60% of women with endometriosis seek medical attention because of chronic pelvic pains or other pain symptoms related to their menstrual cycles. Laparoscopic diagnosis and treatment in this group of women is usually delayed by an average of 6.35 years from the beginning of symptoms, as demonstrated by one of the studies performed at our Institute for the Study and Treatment of Endometriosis (Endometriosis Institute). This is interesting considering that a comparable ‘diagnostic delay’ in women with endometriosis and infertility is only about half as long. Read More About Managing Pelvic PainTreatment of Infertility
There is no question that chances for pregnancy in endometriosis are significantly decreased. Women with Stage I or II endometriosis have an approximately 2% chance for conceiving in any given menstrual cycle (cycle fecundity rate). That chance is less than 1% for women with Stage III or IV disease. By comparison, age-dependent cycle fecundity rates in healthy fertile women range between 15 and 25%. After laparoscopic resection of endometriosis, cycle fecundity rate in Stage I-II disease increases to about 4-5% but only to 1-2% in Stage III-IV. Medical treatment of Stage I-II endometriosis increases cycle fecundity rate to about 4-5% but is less effective in the advanced disease. These percentages are significantly below the expected fecundity rate of fertile women and indicate that not all biochemical and/or anatomical changes associated with endometriosis and contributing to infertility are corrected by the treatment of this disease.
