Ultrasound is now a key tool for the diagnosis of endometriosis in women
Ultrasound is now a key tool for the diagnosis of endometriosis in women.
Endometriosis is not usually detected in a routine ultrasound but specialists with three years of extra training can provide doctors with detailed information, says Associate Professor Luk Rombauts, fertility specialist and research director at Monash IVF.
“The key paradigm shift in the management of women with endometriosis is that we now have specialists that can diagnose endometriosis on ultrasound,” he says.
“[Ultrasound] can give me almost like a preoperative map of what I’d expect to find – not just chocolate cyst or endometrioma but to tell me whether the pouch of Douglas (the space between the bowel and the uterus) is completely obliterated, whether there are nodules infiltrating the bladder or the bowel.”
Associate Professor Rombauts says “this is the type of ultrasound we all have to try to get organised for our patients”.
In this video, Associate Professor Rombauts discusses:
- What history should a GP be taking in the 30 year old that presents with pelvic pain?
- Is there anything that you are looking for in particular on examination?
- What kind of investigations should be ordered?
- How would you treat the woman who is about to start trying to get pregnant?
- Any alternatives to using the pill?
- Are there any new non-surgical forms of treatment available or coming?
