Endometriosis is a chronic and often debilitating condition, which is currently recognised to impact 1.5 million women in the UK. This translates roughly to one in ten women, making the condition almost as common as diabetes. Therefore, for recent studies to conclude that laparoscopic surgeries – which have previously been commended as the most effective way to relieve endometriosis pain by removing damaged tissue – may actually be causing more harm than good, leaves me frankly infuriated. How can it be so widely accepted that a condition which causes such distress has so little knowledge surrounding it?

Speaking on these recent discoveries, Professor Andrew Horne states “we find that patients don’t always get better with surgery, and those who do often feel better for a very short time”. As someone who has previously undergone this procedure, and am awaiting further surgery for my endometriosis on the ever increasing NHS waiting lists, it is deeply disheartening to learn that these surgeries I have been encouraged to have are merely a token of false hope. Since my first surgery, I have developed chronic bladder issues and pain, and I have had doctors scoff at the idea that surgery could have worsened my pain. To now read that the surgery I so willingly accepted could actually have made my pain worse is massively disheartening; why should I allow my body to be put at risk of further damage when doctors are not confident in my treatment themselves?

Endometriosis is recognised to have three strands of the disease: superficial peritoneal endometriosis, cystic ovarian endometriosis and deep endometriosis. Professor Horne suggests that until recently, doctors treated all three strands with the same approach – surgery. But research now shows that the best treatment for the condition is dependent on which strand of the disease a patient suffers with, and what type of endometrial-tissue is present. It is understood that surgery is necessary for the cystic ovarian strand of the disease, as the removal of these cysts prevents them from bursting and is likely to provide significant relief to the patient.

For the estimated 80% of sufferers with the superficial peritoneal strand, however, surgery could in fact be exacerbating the pain experienced. In these cases, it is less the tissue itself causing the patient’s pain, but the way in which the diseased tissue interacts with nerves in the pelvis. As this strand of the disease impacts such a vast quantity of people, I feel the complete lack of understanding and treatment options for the condition to be unjustifiable. With this knowledge, it should be seen as a necessity to better understand the distinction between the strands of endometriosis; if the number of people who suffer with superficial peritoneal endometriosis outweighs those with cystic ovarian endometriosis so vastly, one cannot justify offering a fixed treatment that will statistically benefit so few.

Oxford University’s Katy Vincent argues that “Endometriosis continues to be more hidden than other diseases, partly because it is a women’s condition, and the funding and the research just isn’t there yet”. While this is most certainly the case, this does not provide justice for the sheer mass of people suffering daily at the hands of this condition. Why should women and non-binary people with endometriosis accept a pain riddled life because of a general lack of understanding of the female biology and health care? If researchers have been aware of the three subtypes of endometriosis for the last decade, why has the distinction between the three only received further research and understanding in the past five years? 

As a result of my lacking treatment, I am now experiencing a medically induced menopause through prostap injections, in an attempt to ease my endometriosis symptoms. Facing endometriosis can feel isolating at the best of times, but to realise that the research and drive for understanding your condition is so obsolete in the field of healthcare feels like a massive injustice not only to people suffering with endometriosis, but to conditions affecting women generally. How much longer can we be at peace with the general disregard for women’s health and wellbeing? The ignorant bliss towards endometriosis is an epidemic in itself, and is almost as harmful as the poorly researched treatment advice on offer.

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