1st Endometriosis Institute Conference: Restoring women's health and joy of life

The conference will bring together well-known specialists: doctors, nutritionists, psychologists and rehabilitation specialists who have been focused on restoring normal life to women suffering from endometriosis for years. Patients who overcame the disease and won the battle for health, as well as those who still suffer from it, will tell their stories. There will be an opportunity to learn more about methods of diagnosing and treating the disease, and to learn about the available drugs and preparations that are currently being used in therapy. This is an excellent opportunity for all ladies who are struggling with the disease and are looking for understanding and support.

The Conference is organized by the newly established Endometriosis Institute, a joint effort of Wroclaw-based gynecologist Dr. Nikolai Karmowski, an expert in treating difficult cases of endometriosis, who in his 20-year career has performed more than 3.5 thousand procedures and several thousand consultations for the diagnosis of the disease, and the Wroclaw-based EMC company, part of Penta Hospitals, the largest group of hospitals and clinics in Central Europe.

Together in the fight for women's health

The facility is located in Wroclaw's EuroMediCare Hospital, one of Poland's private hospitals, which provides adequate facilities for such activities. The facility, which has been operating since 2002, is a multi-profile, surgical specialty hospital with an outpatient clinic. It has a large operating theater and 19 specialized outpatient clinics, as well as a 24-hour medical on-call service.

- We were looking for a large enough partner who would not be afraid of a big undertaking - the establishment of a comprehensive center for holistic treatment of endometriosis on a European scale in Poland, says Dr. Karmowski. - Women in Poland are waiting for a qualitative leap in the approach to this disease. We also want to conduct advanced research on it. Today, the causes of its formation and course are not yet fully known, and the answers to these questions are worth a Nobel Prize, he adds.

Dr. Karmowski invited two other well-known specialists to join him - Dr. Piotr Rubisz and Dr. Lukasz Kotarski, gynecologists who have also been involved in advanced treatment of women's diseases for years and specialize in endometriosis.

- Treatment of the disease in Poland actually started about 10 years ago practically from scratch," says Dr. Piotr Rubisz. - Relative to the population, the number of specialists and centers is still dramatically low, which is why so many women in Poland are undiagnosed and untreated or treated incorrectly, he adds. - Women perform hundreds of unnecessary tests by running diagnostics for diseases they do not suffer from. Instead, they suffer from incapacitating menstrual pain, gastrointestinal problems, pain during intercourse," Dr. Lukasz Kotarski echoes. - Endometriosis is a daily, incapacitating pain that prevents normal functioning. It causes cancellation of life, professional and family plans," he adds.

Symptoms of endometriosis can sometimes be difficult to diagnose, as complaints can indicate many different ailments. For this reason, the average time to diagnose a woman suffering from the disease in Poland is 7- 12 years. During this time, she wanders from specialist to specialist, unable to begin proper treatment, while her health deteriorates significantly, as does her quality of life.

Insidious disease and difficult treatment

Endometriosis is a disease of young women of reproductive age, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) can affect about 10% to 15% of them. The disease is progressive and, if left untreated, leads to the gradual destruction of internal organs. Continuous inflammation in the peritoneum results in the formation of scar tissue, tumors and adhesions inside the abdominal cavity, which, in addition to chronic pain, cause irreversible anatomical changes and dysfunction of internal organs. Untreated, it also leads to infertility. It is estimated that as many as 63% of cases of female infertility are the result of undiagnosed endometriosis.

In the body of a healthy woman, the uterine cavity is lined with a special tissue, called endometrium, in which a fertilized egg cell can nest and grow. In a diseased person, the endometrium occurs and grows outside the uterine cavity and can migrate, infiltrating other internal organs. Its presence is found, for example, in the intestinal wall, liver and even lungs. Each month, during menstruation, all foci of endometrium begin to bleed, causing severe pain and numerous local inflammations, scarring and adhesions. Pain can also occur regardless of the phase of the cycle. - Endometriosis should be viewed as a chronic disease that requires a long-term treatment plan, modern therapeutic methods, and ongoing close monitoring, says Dr. Karmowski. It also requires appropriate scale, equipment equipment, experience, etc. - he adds.

It is the desire to radically improve the existing state of affairs that is the reason for the establishment of the Endometriosis Institute. - We want to create a leading center for holistic treatment, diagnosis and rehabilitation of this disease. Polish medicine in many specialties has managed to jump from the bottom of the rankings to the world's top in a short period of time. We want to do this in the case of endometriosis," Drs. Karmowski, Rubisz and Kotarski say together. - To achieve this, a center of sufficient scale must be established. It is therefore necessary to have adequate medical, equipment and financial resources. It is also necessary to have an experienced, close-knit team that has performed a sufficiently large number of surgeries, consultations, diagnoses. Endometriosis treatment is a team game - it requires the involvement of many specialists - gynecologists, surgeons, urologists, psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, psychiatrists, etc. We have all this at the Endometriosis Institute," they add.

To spread knowledge and train professionals

With the First Conference of the Endometriosis Institute, doctors want to strengthen the spread of knowledge about this disease and integrate the community of patients, doctors and other medical professionals. - We are keen that female patients can finally feel understood, that they can feel each other's strength and support. We are sure that the company of other women, both those who suffer from this difficult disease and those who have overcome it, as well as specialists truly knowledgeable in its treatment, will be a great relief to them. We promise the latest knowledge and a lot of real hope for the ladies to get well," say specialists from the Endometriosis Institute.

More information:

www.instytutendometriozy.pl