Diagnosis of endometriosis is often
delayed, especially among younger women. The delay in
diagnosing endometriosis is that very often the symptoms
are mistaken to represent other conditions such as adenomyosis
("Endometriosis Interna"), appendicitis, ovarian
cysts, bowel obstructions, colon cancer, diverticulitis,
ectopic pregnancy, fibroid tumors, gonorrhea, inflammatory
bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, ovarian cancer,
and PID. To correctly diagnose endometriosis in most cases
requires a surgical procedure done under anesthesia called
laparoscopy. The patient’s abdomen is distended
with carbon dioxide gas to make the organs easier to see
and a laparoscope(a tube with a light in it) is inserted
into a small incision in the abdomen. The laparoscope
is moved around the abdomen, the surgeon can check the
condition of the abdominal organs and see the endometrial
implants, if care and thoroughness are used.
In rare cases a doctor can sometimes
feel endometrial implants during a pelvic examination,
and symptoms will indicate endo, but it is not good practice
to treat this disease without confirmation of the diagnosis.
(Ovarian cancer, for instance, sometimes has the same
symptoms.) A laparoscopy also indicates the locations,
extent, and size of the growths and may help the doctor
and patient make better-informed, long-range decisions
about treatment and pregnancy.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
