By Barbara Page
Endometriosis by itself is one of the most perplexing and painful disorders ever to be catalogued in the annals of medical history. Yet, making matters worse is the fact that there exist almost as many opinions on how to treat the disorder as there are specialists. Faced with such a bewildering array of often contradictory information, it is easy to understand how medical misconceptions can sometimes slip into the narratives and be mistaken as scientific fact or simply differences of opinion. Recently, however, there seems to have been an uptick in misleading claims being circulated on the internet, particularly concerning laser and excision surgery. Patients with endometriosis are already burdened with a devastating disease; yet now it seems they face even more hardship by having to navigate through a minefield of misinformation at a time when they are making some of the most critical medical decisions of their lives.
It was clearly time for an information intervention.
Considering that over 500 new articles on endometriosis are published each year, not to mention the thousands of others overflowing from archives, attempting to summarize such a vast and ponderous range of opinions and theories is, needless to say, quite difficult, if not impossible. Add to that the fact that so many lingering unknowns and enigmas are still limiting our understanding of endometriosis, then it becomes all the more clear that we have a colossal task before us in trying to find coherence amidst the confusion. All the same, here?s our best effort to provide unvarnished, jargon-free explanations to common misconceptions about the various surgical options for treating endometriosis. As the references demonstrate, the information is based on recommendations by national medical regulatory agencies and gynecological surgery’s most well-respected textbooks and medical journals.
Laser? Excision?
