When a woman has endometriosis, the tissue that lines her uterus, called the endometrium, grows outside of the uterus. When this tissue grows outside of the uterus, it is mostly found in the pelvic cavity. In very rare cases, endometriosis areas can grow in the lungs or other parts of the body. The endometriosis growths are affected by the monthly menstrual cycle. When a woman has endometriosis, the growths outside of the uterus also bleed during her period. As the tissue grows, it can develop into growths, also called tumors or implants. These growths are usually benign (not cancerous) and are rarely associated with cancer. Growths can cause mild to severe pain, infertility, and heavy periods.

No one knows for sure what causes this disease. One theory is that during menstruation some of the menstrual tissue backs up through the fallopian tubes into the abdomen, where it implants and grows. Another theory suggests that endometriosis may be genetic, or runs in families.

Our belief is that anyone with endo should be treated at the first suspicion of the disease. The inflammation that is caused by endo likely slowly damages the ovaries removing eggs at a faster than normal rate – hence infertility and earlier menopause. So instead of birth control pills for the adolescent, surgery with complete excision by a very experienced operator is the best course of action.

We offer a comprehensive evaluation and treatment program for PCOS, both for patients seeking pregnancy or treatment of the symptoms and long term health complications of the disease. In the case of fertility, we offer the entire range of treatments for this cause of ovulation dysfunction. Nearly 90% of our patients are pregnant in 3-6 cycles of basic therapy and we rarely take patients to IVF at this time when their only diagnosis is PCOS. We are very excited to share this extremely successful approach with any patients presenting to us for fertility care.

Through our comprehensive treatment approach, we are very excited to see most of the metabolic abnormalities completely reversing in these patients and it is our belief that patients can return to a near normal risk for many of these devastating health problems. Again, we are excited to help any patient with PCOS develop a health maintenance program for life that will help them reduce these risks.

The woman’s inability to ovulate and regulate hormone levels causes a production of too much or too little of one particular hormone. This hormonal imbalance is manifested by symptoms that are easily detected allowing for treatment to begin as soon as possible. These symptoms include irregular menstrual cycles, excessive bleeding or very little bleeding, abdominal and pelvic cramps, absence of menstrual period for stretches of time and excessive weight gain and loss.

Specific treatment for hormonal infertility will be determined by our experts based on anumber of factors including age, overall health, and medical history, cause of the disorder, tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies,and expectations for the course of the homronal disorder.

At birth there are approximately 1-2 million eggs in the ovaries. This number falls to about 500,000 at the time of puberty and results in approximately 400 ovulations during the reproductive years. At the beginning of a woman’s reproductive life span, the ovary responds readily to stimulation from the brain to produce a mature egg. In order to mature an egg and ovulate, a number of eggs develop at the same time and the “best egg” gets selected in the first part of the menstrual cycle. It is during the process of egg recruitment and development that the eggs are lost each cycle.

Some women do not properly develop and release a mature egg every month – they do not ovulate regularly. We call this anovulation (lack of ovulation) – or oligoovulation (infrequent or irregular ovulation). In general, cumulative pregnancy success rates are high with treatment from a fertility specialist when the fertility issue is an ovulation problem.

Fallopian tubes are the connections between the uterus and the ovaries. Sperm fertilizes the egg in the outer one-third of the tube and the embryo is then moved towards the uterus for implantation. Fallopian tubes pick up the egg and have peristaltic movements allowing the transport of the embryo into the uterus after the egg is fertilized. If tubes are blocked, sperm and the egg cannot meet and infertility follows.

Damage to the fallopian tubes as a result of prior infection, endometriosis or previous pelvic surgery is one of the most common causes of infertility. Tubal blockage can occur in several locations. Often the ends of the tubes are obstructed, while the openings into the uterus are still patent/open. In many cases the tube is filled with fluid which is called a hydrosalpinx.