Laparoscopic Treatment
of Endometriosis

Laparoscopy (keyhole surgery) with biopsy of suspected endometriosis tissue is the gold standard method to confirm the presence of endometriosis.

A laparoscopy will be offered by your gynaecologist to treat your endometriosis if medical treatment is not effective in controlling your symptoms, if you have been found to have an endometriotic cyst (chocolate cyst) on an ultrasound scan, or if you have problems getting pregnant and therefore surgical treatment of endometriosis will improve your fertility.

There are two treatment options for pelvic endometriosis:

• Ablation (thermal destruction of endometriosis)
• Excision (cutting out the endometriosis)

Ablation

When superficial endometriosis is identified in your pelvis during your laparoscopy, thermal energy can be applied on the spots of endometriosis to evaporate and therefore treat them. Unfortunately, if the endometriosis is deep in the tissues, ablation technique may fail to treat it.

Excision

When superficial or deep endometriosis is identified in your pelvis during your laparoscopy, these areas are cut out and the specimens are sent to the laboratory to confirm the presence of endometriosis. This treatment method is believed to be more effective in treating deep infiltrating endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition that is characterised by cells from the lining of the womb being deposited in various tissues in the body but mainly in the pelvis (ovaries, tubes, bladder, bowel).

Endometriosis is a hormone-dependent condition. The exact prevalence of endometriosis is unknown but it is estimated to affect 2 in 10% of women of reproductive age and up to 50% of women with fertility problems. It is a benign (non-cancerous) condition but it can have a great impact on the quality of life of the women affected by it.

Laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis starts from £6,200.*

Our fixed-price package prices include the cost of your surgery and all appropriate aftercare appointments. Our costs include all surgery fees and aftercare appointments with our Consultants.

However, any pre-surgery diagnostic tests and your consultant’s outpatient appointment consultation fee are charged separately. We provide fixed term monthly payment plans over one to five years with no deposit required. If you decide to pay over 10 months, you will pay interest-free. If you are paying for a longer period, you will pay 14.9% APR.

Our flexible payment options help you spread the cost of your payment across a time period that suits you. More details on our flexible payment options can be found here.

*This is a guide price for patients who are paying for their own treatment. The actual cost of your treatment will be confirmed in writing at the time of booking.

Endometriosis commonly causes pain and occasionally infertility. Woman may experience endometriosis symptoms differently but usually endometriosis is characterised by cyclical pelvic pain that is pain that gets worse before or during the period.

Commonly women complain of the following symptoms:

• Lower back pain
• Pain radiating down the legs
• Pain during intercourse (dyspareunia)
• Pain on opening the bowels
• Pain on urination or frequency of urination
• Tiredness/lethargy
• Lower pelvic pain
• Bloating

Various studies have been done to assess the superiority of one technique over the other. They have shown that both techniques have similar benefits in treating pelvic pain. However, there is a concern that with the ablative method, deep endometriosis may be missed or left untreated.

Most women who undergo laparoscopic treatment of their endometriosis are able to be discharged home on the same day after being reviewed by a member of the healthcare team. Occasionally due to pain or difficulties in passing urine some women may have to stay overnight in the hospital. Women who have extensive excision (cutting out) of endometriosis may be advised by their gynaecologist to stay in the hospital for one night.

In the days following your laparoscopy you will be experiencing some discomfort in your tummy and around the wound sites. Simple pain killers should be sufficient to control these symptoms. Depending on the extent of the treatment undertaken during your laparoscopy, you should be able to return to your normal activities within one to two weeks.