March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and here at the RESTORE Center for Endometriosis Dr. Patrick Yeung Jr. and the team are focusing on increasing awareness on the gold standard of treatment for endo.
We all know that killer cramps, heavy bleeding, debilitating periods, chronic pain, and infertility may be common but they are certainly not normal!
Understanding endometriosis and finding a true endometriosis excision surgeon are often the biggest obstacles women with these often-unexplained and undiagnosed symptoms face.
Endometriosis is commonly misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or treated improperly, and women are frequently dismissed, being told that heavy periods and debilitating cramps are “normal”.
Endometriosis is a complex disease where tissue resembling the lining of the uterus is found outside of the uterus. Endometriosis can be found throughout the body and has even been found in-utero, in the brain, and in men.
The endometriosis community likes to say that 1 in 10 women around the world have endometriosis, with the average diagnosis taking women 10 years of suffering and searching for help.
Our Saint Louis University research shows a much higher number of women are dealing with this devastating disease than previously believed:
At RESTORE we understand that “unexplained” infertility is a lazy diagnosis and that endometriosis is almost always one of several factors, including chronic inflammation, hormonal imbalances and estrogen dominance, and immune system dysfunction, at the root.
The status quo of treating endometriosis and infertility with band-aid therapies is not satisfactory!
The surgical technique of ablation/burning does NOT address the roots of the disease and leaves women constant state of needing surgery every few years for the same disease. The published rate of repeat surgery for patients with these treatments is 50-80% in one to two years because the disease was not fully treated.
Endometriosis is unique in that it is one of few diseases where the standard treatment has been to remove organs rather than removing the actual disease-it’s time to change this with root cause treatment!
Medications like Lupron, Orilissa, and Myfembree are inducing a state of chemical castration. Lupron is used to lower testosterone in men with prostate cancer and as a puberty blocker.
Young women are being given these meds without the education of what they do to the body, which is cause serious side-effects including menopausal symptoms and having extreme impacts on mental health and mood.
These drugs have NOT been proven to treat endo or support future fertility!
Bypass therapies, including IVF, which bypass the pelvis and the couple in hopes of achieving pregnancy, do not address the root causes of why the couple is facing infertility, does not promote recurring fertility, and can be financially daunting. We also understand that women with endometriosis do not have the same chances of implantation success and have a higher rate of miscarriage when the disease is left in place.
At RESTORE we are going back to basic principles of, find the problem and fix it with the goal of one and done surgery and natural, recurring fertility for women with endometriosis.
Optimal excision is the new gold standard in endometriosis treatment!
We must remove all suspected endo throughout the body-even when found in more challenging areas including bowel endometriosis, thoracic endometriosis, and endo found on the appendix, bladder, ureters, and fallopian tubes.
While there is no cure for endometriosis, and we cannot guarantee that women will never need surgery again, we have proven that a very low rate of repeat surgery, 2.5% over 10 years, when using optimal excision.
Dr. Yeung has dedicated his career to education and sought additional training on using free beam laser to excise, or cut out, the disease at its roots.
Operating laparoscopically, using keyhole incisions, affords Dr. Yeung the benefits of illumination and magnification. With this we can see better than we ever did with the naked eye. We can zoom in to see identify and then remove the disease, cutting it all out wherever found.
This non-contact cutting tool allows Dr. Yeung to cut the endo out without touching the tissue ensuing there is no tissue damage in a very clean, concise manner.
Dr. Yeung and our RESTORE Center for Endometriosis team understands that excision is not the only step in addressing endo at the roots. We also focus on preventing adhesion and optimizing anatomy for preventing the need for recurrent surgery and supporting natural, recurring fertility.
Whether a surgeon prefers laser or robotics for excision surgery for endometriosis, the key is the end surgical result-have you removed all of the disease?
At RESTORE we focus on our 3-Pronged Comprehensive Approach to Wellness + Fertility, optimizing anatomy, optimizing hormone balance, and optimizing nutrition and lifestyle.
Our Functional Medicine approach means that, you, our patients, are educated empowered to take steps to support the results of your optimal excision surgery!
Check out our RESTORE Functional Living Guide for more!
This Endometriosis Awareness Month we are keeping in mind that the #1 thing we can do to help women with endometriosis is to get rid of the disproven theories and endo myths including the retrograde menstruation theory, the thought that hormonal suppression treats endo and infertility, and that ablation surgeries are an appropriate treatment option.
Help us spread the word that women deserve education, empowerment, and an endometriosis surgeon who is completely focused on removing the disease and fully committed to serving them!
We must address the disease at the roots via optimal excision to support women in their journey to heal from debilitating pain and infertility and to RESTORE their lives!