My son is starting his second year residency in obstetrics and gynecology. He, like I was 30 years ago, is turned on by reproductive medicine and enjoys performing gynecologic surgery. When I decided then to specialize in reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) I was looking forward to being on the frontier of fertility medicine. The details of Reproductive physiology were being unraveled in real time and IVF had just reported its first successful pregnancies. In those days, microsurgery of the fallopian tubes was commonly performed by REIs as well as endometriosis and fibroid surgery.

During my fellowship, surgery was a huge part of my training. I travelled to Nashville to train with one of the world’s experts in laser laparoscopy. I practiced my tubal microsurgery skills weekly on anesthetized rats in a plastic surgical lab. I assisted on reproductive surgery several cases every week throughout my fellowship.

Myself and other fellows performed research on basic reproductive physiology questions that had yet to be worked out. Personally, my interest was polycystic ovarian disease and its relationship to weight gain. I studied male hormone production in the ovary and the adrenal gland before and after significant weight loss. I discovered that there was an inverse relationship between weight loss and male hormone production and that this was mediated through insulin. These were exciting times. If only we had metformin back then, I would have proven that in addition to weight loss, we could decrease insulin levels and therefore male hormone levels with metformin.

Today, discoveries in reproductive physiology are much more esoteric than it was when I was a fellow. Reproductive surgery, in particular tubal microsurgery and laser laparoscopy for endometriosis and adhesions is usually replaced with in vitro fertilization (IVF) which has become so much more successful, less invasive and therefore a preferable option. Most causes of infertility, if they are not successfully treated with ovulation induction and intrauterine insemination (IUI) can be overcome with IVF.

In the 1980’s when I was a fellow, IVF was grossly inefficient and we had to transfer multiple embryos to achieve a pregnancy. Consequently, triplets and quadruplets were not rare occurrences. In many programs, they constituted over 10% of all pregnancies. Today, we can often transfer one embryo at a time minimizing the risk of multiple pregnancies. We can freeze excess embryos so many patients need go through only one stimulation and retrieval and still have multiple transfers providing them with an excellent chance of conceiving a baby from their efforts.

Today, we get excited about advances in preembryo genetic screening and diagnosis and contemplate the current and future potential of eliminating hereditary medical disorders. This involves highly trained laboratory personnel who perform the latest technologic advances. In 2010, the REI, in general is removed from a hands on involvement with the frontiers of Reproductive Medicine and instead works like a film producer gathering his team including these lab personnel, nurses, etc and directing them as to how to approach his patients’ fertility problems. It used to be that he used the microscope and laser laparoscope to perform the tubal and endometriosis surgery. The IVF retrieval and transfer were new procedures that were still being perfected.

Today, they are the routine cases performed daily by the REI.

My son looks at the REI of today as a doctor who starts his day with 1-2 hours of ultrasound that is part of the daily ovulation monitoring for IUI and IVF. Many REIs no longer perform more surgery than hysteroscopy and occasional laparoscopy or myomectomy in addition to their retrievals. These are all considered routine procedures now. The current frontier in infertility is limited pretty much to the laboratory. Though many of us consider ourselves expert in stimulations, retrievals and transfers and while we know we make a significant difference in our patients’ outcomes our work does not appear or feel as glamorous as it once did. Perhaps, he will decide, as I did, that the pleasure in helping women build their families is sufficient reward. Or perhaps, this Nintendo generation, will seek a more apparently exciting lifestyle. How about that Robotic surgery?

I don’t have to tell you that endometriosis can be a very painful illness and that it can cause infertility. It is often a reproductive lifelong struggle in which tissue that normally lines the uterus migrates or implants into other parts of the body, most often in the pelvic lining and ovaries. This leads to pain and swelling and often times difficulty conceiving.

If you have endometiosis, you are not alone. Five to ten percent of all women have it. Though many of these women are not infertile, among patients who have infertility, about 30 percent have endometriosis.

Endometriosis can grow like a weed in a garden, irritating the local lining of the pelvic cavity and attaching itself to the ovaries and bowels. Scar tissue often forms where it grows, which can exacerbate the pain and increase the likelihood of infertility. The only way to be sure a woman has endometriosis is to perform a surgical procedure called laparoscopy which allows your physician to look inside the abdominal cavity with a narrow tubular scope. He may be suspicious that you have endometriosis based on your history of very painful menstrual cycles, painful intercourse, etc., or based on your physical examination or ultrasound findings. On an ultrasound, a cyst of endometriosis has a characteristic homogenous appearance showing echoes in the cyst that distinguish it from a normal ovarian follicle. Unlike the corpus luteum (ovulated follicle), its edges are round as opposed to collapsed and irregular in the corpus luteum and the cyst persists after a menses where corpora lutea will resolve each month.

Women with any stage of endometriosis (mild, moderate, or severe) can have severe lower abdominal and pelvic pain – or they might have no pain or symptoms whatsoever. Patients with mild endometriosis will not have a cyst and will have no physical findings on exam or ultrasound. It is thought that infertility caused by mild disease may be chemical in nature perhaps affecting sperm motility, fertilization, embryo development or even implantation perhaps mediated through an autoimmune response.

Moderate and severe endometriosis are, on the other hand, associated with ovarian cysts of endometriosis which contain old blood which turns brown and has the appearance of chocolate. These endometriomata (so called “chocolate cysts”) cause pelvic scarring and distortion of pelvic anatomy. The tubes can become damaged or blocked and the ovaries may become adherent to the uterus, bowel or pelvic side wall. Any of these anatomic distortions can result in infertility. In some cases the tissue including the eggs in the ovaries can be damaged, resulting in diminished ovarian reserve and reduced egg quantity and quality.

The treatment for endometriosis associated with infertility needs to be individualized for each woman. Surgery often provides temporary relief and can improve fertility but rarely is successful in permanently eliminating the endometriosis which typically returns one to two years after resection.

There are no easy answers, and treatment decisions depend on factors such as the severity of the disease and its location in the pelvis, the woman’s age, length of infertility, and the presence of pain or other symptoms.

Treatment for Mild Endometriosis

Medical (drug) treatment can suppress endometriosis and relieve the associated pain in many women. Surgical removal of lesions by laparoscopy might also reduce the pain temporarily.
However, several well-controlled studies have shown that neither medical nor surgical treatment for mild endometriosis will improve pregnancy rates for infertile women as compared to expectant management (no treatment). For treatment of infertility associated with mild to moderate endometriosis, ovulation induction with intrauterine insemination (IUI) has a reasonable chance to result in pregnancy if no other infertility factors are present. If this is not effective after about three – six cycles (maximum), then I would recommend proceeding with in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Treatment for Severe Endometriosis

Several studies have shown that medical treatment for severe endometriosis does not improve pregnancy rates for infertile women. Some studies have shown that surgical treatment of severe endometriosis does improve the chances for pregnancy as compared to no treatment. However, the pregnancy rates remain low after surgery, perhaps no better than two percent per month.

Some physicians advocate medical suppression with a GnRH-agonist such as Lupron for up to six months after surgery for severe endometriosis before attempting conception. Although at least one published study found this to improve pregnancy rates as compared to surgery alone, other studies have shown it to be of no benefit. The older a patient is, the more problematic post surgical treatment with Lupron will be as it delays a woman’s attempt to conceive until she is even older and less fertile due to aging.

Unfortunately, the infertility in women with severe endometriosis is often resistant to treatment with ovarian stimulation plus IUI as the pelvic anatomy is very distorted. These women will often require IVF in order to conceive.

Recommendations

As endometriosis is a progressive destructive disorder that will lead to diminished ovarian reserve if left unchecked, it is vital to undergo a regular fertility screen annually and to consider moving up your plans to start a family before your ovaries become too egg depleted. When ready to conceive, I recommend that you proceed aggressively to the most effective and efficient therapy possible.

Women with endometriosis and infertility are unfortunately in a race to get pregnant before the endometriosis destroys too much ovarian tissue and achieving a pregnancy with their own eggs becomes impossible. However, if you are proactive and do not significantly delay in aggressively proceeding with your family building, then I have every expectation that you will be successful in your efforts to become a mom.