A wide range of surgical procedures come under the title of endometriosis surgery. The common objectives are to relieve chronic pain while preserving natural fertility.
Laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis is really about restoring anatomy and function to near normal. These procedures involve carefully excising endometriosis deposits from the pelvic walls, bladder, bowel, vagina, tubes and ovaries.
Dr Gordon only practices state-of-the-art excisional surgery, as opposed to laser ablation or coagulation diathermy. The distinct advantage of excisional surgery is that it allows the entire ‘root’ of endometriosis tissue to be removed.
Dr Gordon is a perfectionist in regard to these surgeries; the average duration for surgery under his care is one and a half to two hours, but there have been extreme examples where surgery has extended to almost nine hours.
In patients seeking to conceive within two to twelve months of surgery, dye testing to prove that the fallopian tubes are open is often undertaken. This is a simple, reassuring test that adds little to the overall time of surgery.
Recover times and what to expect after endometriosis surgery
After excisional surgery to remove endometriosis there will be a short but predictable recovery, generally;
- 1-2 nights in hospital (I don’t send any patients home on the day of surgery).
- Ancillary IV line, catheter and drain tube all removed on the morning after surgery before discharge home.
- 3-4 days of quick recovery.
- Ability to exercise and have intercourse within 7-10 days, usually off work one week.
- Well recovered by 4-8 weeks.
- Normal fertility within 4-8 weeks of surgery.
- Normally completely pain-free 8-12 weeks after surgery.
Recovery time following excisional surgery is dependent on the complexity of the surgery required to return anatomy to “normal”.
Can endometriosis grow back after surgical removal?
Endometriosis can grow back in new areas of the pelvis, even after the most careful, advanced excisional surgery. Generally, endometriosis can return within organs that are necessary, such as ovaries, uterus or even the bowel.
There is often a timeline between the risk of recurrence versus maintaining function; clearly removing more ovarian tissue than necessary would reduce the risk of endometrioma formation but in so doing might also reduce natural fertility.
Can pain continue despite excellent surgery?
Yes, occasionally. This is more likely to be the case in women who have had multiple prior surgeries with diathermy to ablate (burn) tissues, resulting in the possibility of leaving abnormal tissue behind, or worse, to cause nerve damage resulting in chronic pain.
Usually, this can be addressed by a more thorough surgery where ALL the abnormal tissue has been removed and nerve pressure is relieved. Some young women may also have adenomyosis, which contributes to pain, and may be best suppressed with a hormone device.
All patients after surgery will have some degree of postoperative pain, largely managed with the use of slow-release paracetamol, an anti-inflammatory, as well as stronger and quicker painkillers. These medications will be used generally in the first week after surgery, with a view to reducing over 7-10 days. Some of these medications (anti-inflammatories in particular) must only be taken with food.
In rare circumstances, women may need nerve modulating agents or narcotic medications to temporarily suppress pain until the correct surgical option can be established.
What are the risks of surgery for endometriosis?
Broadly speaking, these can be classified into two categories:
Anaesthetic risks: (medical history, BMI, heart and thyroid conditions all need to be discussed with an anaesthetist on the day of surgery)
Surgical risks: The risk of harm to adjacent structures (bowel, vessels, ureters and bladder) during surgery is very small. The risk of harm is further minimised by having a meticulous and thorough surgeon, such as Dr Gordon, who has almost 20 years of experience in both Public and Private practice.
For the complexity and range of advanced laparoscopic procedures that Dr Gordon undertakes for the restoration of fertility and resolution of pain, the actual risk of any complication occurring is substantially lower than the generally quoted average risk of 1:1000.
Contact Endo Health today to get an accurate diagnosis and discuss your treatment options.
What are the common forms of endometriosis surgery?
Total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH)
The preferred and proven safest technique – and the one which Dr Gordon pioneered in conjunction with several other Australian gynaecologists in 1998-1999 – is total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH).
TLH is a very advanced surgical technique, particularly when removing endometriosis or a limited bowel resection is involved as part of a larger planned procedure. The operating time is between one and a half and five hours, depending on associated pathology.
The details of surgery will be discussed in detail by Dr Gordon with each patient. The average in-hospital stay is two nights only, a car may be driven within a week, and return to full work (non-manual) will be two to three weeks.
Find out more about: Total laparoscopic surgery
Hysteroscopy / D&C / Examination under anaesthetic
This means, literally, to look into the uterus. It is often completed at the commencement of surgery to establish that the uterine cavity is normal and that there are no endometriotic nodules growing in the vagina, cervix or uterus. The uterine cavity is measured (using a probe called a ‘sound’), particularly if a IUD is to be installed at the conclusion of surgery.
Intra-uterine device
This is a simple plastic device that releases a very low dose of a progesterone IUD for up to five years.
The effect is:
- relief of uterine cramping pain (adenomyosis)
- reversible contraception
- reduction in period volume (menorrhagia or dysfunctional bleeding).
With his extensive experience over 20 years, Dr Gordon believes it is much better to install this device under a light general anaesthetic. Removal of this device, when required, can easily be undertaken at Dr Gordon’s medical rooms.
Tubal division for a woman with a completed family
When a woman’s family is definitely complete, and the use of a reversible device is deemed unsuitable, then permanent options for contraception need to be considered. The male partner option is vasectomy and the female partner options include tubal division or hysterectomy.
Tubal division is performed during laparoscopy and really means that the tube is separated into two pieces by either a mechanical clamp or by dividing the fallopian tube with diathermy. Both methods are relatively simple and both are permanent. Dr Gordon prefers to not leave a foreign body within the pelvis and will be guided by a patient’s directions.
Removal of an endometrial polyp or intracavity fibroid
This is a simple procedure undertaken at the time of hysteroscopy. The camera guides the operator to the polyp or fibroid and a wire loop, through which a current is discharged, is then able to cut and seal the base or stalk to which the polyp was attached. The contents are then removed through the vagina and sent to the laboratory for testing.
Endometrial ablation: NovaSure or rollerball
Endometrial ablation is a procedure used to substantially reduce or even stop menstrual periods by removing the lining of the uterus, for women with relatively normal anatomy and where there are no additional indications for hysterectomy. In this carefully selected group of patients, 90% to 95% will achieve absent periods within six months of surgery.
It is not an appropriate procedure in women with a thin caesarean scar, very enlarged or distorted uterine cavities (usually fibroids), or those with confirmed adenomyosis.
Since Dr Gordon completed his first endometrial ablation in 1991, there have been myriad techniques proposed and there are only two that he continues to employ:
- NovaSure ablation
- Rollerball ablation.
Occasionally uterine dimensions or the presence of an open cervix (which may not produce a water-tight seal) are such that NovaSure is not feasible and in these situations, the gold-standard and very first technique of rollerball ablation is employed to produce an identical outcome.
Laparoscopic bowel resection for patients with deep infiltrating rectal endometriosis
In patients with ultrasound, MRI or laparoscopically proven endometriosis, a bowel resection may be required. Patients may experience chronic and increasing bowel pain leading up to their periods, they may have cyclical changes in bowel habit, or the bowel may be stuck across the lower pelvis preventing safe access to future planned IVF.
Combined colorectal/gynaecological bowel surgery is always undertaken in conjunction with a colorectal surgeon.
Over the last 20 years, Dr Gordon has been involved in over 500 bowel resection procedures, all with deep infiltrating endometriosis; not one has returned to theatre or had a stoma (colostomy bag) following the surgery.
The average in-hospital stay is three to five days. In patients with a completed family, where there is a known risk of the bowel attaching to an adenomyotic uterus, removing the uterus (TLH) may be undertaken simultaneously with appropriate consent.
Bowel function returns within two to four days of surgery, initially sporadic, but by three to four months bowel actions have completely returned to normal. The early bowel actions can be blood-stained but this settles within the first week or so. There are many factors to consider regarding surgical removal of rectal endometriosis, and these will be discussed with each patient in the planning stages with both surgeons well before an anticipated procedure.
It is the aim of every such surgery to maintain as much bowel as possible and if a lesser surgery will produce the desired outcome, this procedure will be undertaken preferentially.
When important organs such as the bowel, bladder and ureter are involved, very specific techniques are required to safely remove these nodules. During surgery, nerve pain is very often reduced or stopped completely once the cause of compression by endometriosis is identified and removed.