What are the options for treating endometriosis?
Like every medical condition, there is a range of options– from doing nothing if you can live with it to the most significant procedure that tries to cure it. The treatments are targeted to provide symptomatic relief. Medications to suppress your own hormones (like birth control pills) or surgery sparing or removing your uterus are treatment options. Fortunately, there are surgical advances that allow a diagnosis and assessment of the status of the disease without a large incision. This technique is called laparoscopy. At the time of laparoscopic exploration, the gynecologist can cut (excise) or destroy (ablate) the endometrial lesions that exist for conservative surgery to spare ones uterus. Unfortunately, the only way to potentially cure endometriosis is with a hysterectomy with or without removal of ones tubes and ovaries. Obviously, this option is reserved for women who are done with child-bearing or those with debilitating pain. Extensive, widespread endometriosis may require rem
