Archive

Archive for the ‘Endometriosis’ Category

Announcing the Endometriosis Podcast!

May 3, 2019 1 comment

Hello Academic OB/GYN Fans!

I am proud to announce the launch of my new podcast project, The Endometriosis Podcast, with my collaborator and co-host Libby Hopton.  The Endometriosis podcast is bimonthly discussion of the most recent literature in the endometriosis world.   With Producer Andrea Muraskin as well.

Please listen, subscribe, and leave comments/reviews on iTunes.

Available at iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-endometriosis-podcast/id1462226534

Available at Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/andrea-muraskin-2/the-endometriosis-podcast

 

Categories: Education, Endometriosis, Uncategorized

Grand Rounds at Baylor Dallas – A Few Lesson for the Residents

October 21, 2018 2 comments

image.png

Reposted from the new blog home at Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery:
This week I had the honor of being invited to give Grand Rounds at Baylor Dallas, under invitation from the chair Dr Anthony Gregg. I spoke to the residents about endometriosis surgery, discussing what we understand about the origins of endometriosis, as well as the rationale for excision surgery. I also showed videos from a number of different excision sugeries, with cases varying from stage I endometriosis, stage IV pelvic endometriosis with bowel resection, abdominal wall endometriosis, and thoracic endometriosis. These sorts of talks are important we are exposing young doctors to something that they otherwise might never be aware of.
I also had the pleasure of working with the residents as we dissected a fresh cadaver, demonstrating the entire retroperitoneal anatomy. I took down the entire side of the pelvic sidewall and identified and demonstrated every named artery, vein, and urinary tract structure. We also demonstrated and dissected the path of the ureter from pelvic brim all the way to the bladder, and replicated technique for a radical laparoscopic hysterectomy.
Finally, I dissected all the pelvic neuroanatomy, including obturator, sciatic, pudendal nerves, as well as nerve roots S1-S4 on each side. We also demonstrated how one performs a pudendal nerve release, cutting the sacrospinous ligaments and coccygeus muscle to open up the pudendal canal to free pressure on the nerve.
I had a great question from one of the residents. She asked how a young doctor can become an endometriosis surgeon. My rather long answer was this:
1. Even at this early stage in your career, resist the urge to think about surgery as a series of steps. Many will do this. That is, when learning to do a laparoscopic hysterectomy many young surgeons will memorize and learn a series of steps that leads from the beginning to the end of the surgery. The problem with this is that while it may work in ordinary situations, one will inevitably encounter variations in anatomy or scarring and adhesions that will make your steps useless. And then you will be paralyzed, and either you will abort your surgery or you may continue and if unlucky, you will injure the patient.
2. Instead of learning a series of steps, focus on learning surgery as three legs to a stool. The three legs of the stool are knowledge of anatomy, knowledge of technique, and knowledge of intention.
Knowledge of anatomy means that the expert surgeon is the master of every anatomical structure in the vicinity of their operative field. Most gynecologists, probably 98% of them, would fail this criteria. The level of mastery required to truly excel means you understand the anatomy of nerves, arteries, veins, bones, and muscle structures, and the relationships between them. When a surgeon has mastered this leg of the stool, no anatomical variation is going to be scary, because they understand where everything is and where they can safely go to complete their task. Knowledge of anatomy does not come from operating under supervision and identifying anatomy as one learns. It instead comes from a specific intention to learn anatomy from all the resources available outside of the operating room, such as books, videos, and cadaver dissections.
The second leg of the stool is knowledge of technique. This means the ability to manipulate tissue and complete one’s tasks without creating undue bleeding or accidentally injuring something, and the ability to successfully stop bleeding when it occurs. It also means a mastery of one’s equipment, such as an deep understanding of the electrosurgical and other energy-based equipment that we use on a daily basis. Just using the settings your attending used is inadequate. One must truly understand why one sets a piece of equipment a certain way, and why one uses that equipment in a certain way, in order to deal with the situations where one might like to change those settings for better effect.
The third leg of the stool is the easiest one. It is the understanding of surgical intention. For example, the surgical intention of a hysterectomy is to remove the uterus from the body while leaving every arterial and venous connection between the uterus and the body secured and sealed, while preserving the support structure of the body. In many ways this is obvious. But in some cases it is more difficult to understand, such as whether or not one should remove a piece of bowel that appears involved in endometriosis. We call this surgical judgement.
Taking these three steps together and intentionally seeking mastery of each, one is bound to be an excellent surgeon. Once one is on this path, becoming an endometriosis surgeon is easy. There are a zillion patients with endometriosis around. Follow these principles and operate to remove the endometriosis. If you try to do endometriosis surgery as a series of steps you will fail miserably, because every surgery is different. But if you apply these principles, understanding anatomy, using good technique, and understanding that the goal is to remove all of the endometriotic tissue, you will succeed and your patients will benefit.
3. The third thing I said is that to be a strong surgeon, one should always cultivate a feeling of responsibility for your patient’s outcome. I see too many surgeons experience complications in their surgeries and then strive to prove to themselves that they weren’t at fault in what happened. This is fundamentally wrong. The surgeon is almost always at fault when something goes wrong. Ureters are cut in hysterectomies 1% of the time not because “it just happens sometimes”, but because in 1% of cases the surgeon failed to apply proper surgical principles and to understand the anatomy of the surgery they were performing. Even the apparent faultless complication of a postoperative infection often originates in a failure of antisepsis or sterile technique, which are controllable factors. If one has a misadventure and chooses to externalize the responsibility for this event, one has lost the opportunity to grow from the error. And unfortunately, that means that if one operates enough, one will repeat that error one day again.
It was a pleasure to speak to the residents and faculty at Baylor Dallas and to teach anatomy to the residents, and I hope that a few of them go on to serve women with endometriosis. It all starts with the young.
Categories: Endometriosis, Surgery, Uncategorized

New Surgical Case: Excision of Endometriosis from Thoracic and Mediastinal Diaphragm with Suture Closure

October 15, 2018 1 comment

This case involves a 41 year old woman with severe symptoms of diaprhagmatic endometriosis.  Symptoms included severe shoulder and neck pain with menses.

 

Categories: Endometriosis, Surgical Videos, Uncategorized

Academic OB/GYN Cases – Large Abdominal Wall Endometrioma with Mesh Reconstruction

October 3, 2017 1 comment

Case:

 

41 year old woman with a history of an abdominal myomectomy followed by a pregnancy, ending in cesarean delivery.  Over time a firm mass could be felt in the abdominal wall which was swollen with her menses.  She had been seen by several physicians who were unable to clearly diagnose the mass.  She eventually was diagnosed by a new PCP, and was referred to our office for treatment.

On being seen in our office, we ordered and reviewed MRI images, which demonstrated abdominal wall endometriosis replacing a large segment of the left rectus abdominus muscle and overlying fascia.

 

AWE 1.png

 

AWE 2.png

These images demonstrated the mass to be approximately 4 x 3 cm in size, with marked gadolinium enhancement in several areas.

A plan was made to do a laparotomy, with expectation that after removal there would be a significant defect in the fascia, likely requiring mesh repair.

Read more…

Categories: Academic OB/GYN Cases, Endometriosis

Surgical Video: Robotic Endo Resection with Superficial Rectal Resection

October 13, 2016 Leave a comment

 

Dr Nicholas Fogelson of Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR demonstrates resection of severe bilateral pelvic endometriosis with superficially invasive anterior rectal wall disease.

Dr. Fogelson is a gynecologic surgeon and endometriosis specialist who practices at Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR.  Call 503-715-1377 for clinical consultation.  http://www.nwendometriosis.com

 

Categories: Endometriosis, Surgical Videos, Uncategorized

On Hysterectomies and Oophorectomies for Endometriosis

September 25, 2016 Leave a comment

As many of you know, I spend a fair amount of time involved in social media outlets, particularly with efforts to support and educate women struggling with endometriosis.   Women with this condition are fortunate to have access to a variety of very active and vigorous advocacy and education groups, and in these groups there is a lot of great information.  At the same time, I occasionally note in these groups that there can be some passionate views, and at times I think that there is some incomplete information being passed around.  Perhaps the biggest area I see this in when the topic of hysterectomy for endometriosis is discussed.

Typically the exchange goes like this:

“I have been struggling with endometriosis for X years and have Y symptoms, and my doctor has recommended a hysterectomy.”

Very quickly (within seconds usually) there will be the response

“Hysterectomy does not treat endometriosis”

or even
“HYSTERECTOMY DOES NOT TREAT ENDOMETRIOSIS!!”

This always rubs me the wrong way.   This is not because it is wrong, but because it is incomplete.  Read more…

Categories: Endometriosis, Uncategorized

Surgical Video -Ovarian Suspension for Endometriosis Resection

August 3, 2016 Leave a comment

Dr Nicholas Fogelson of Pearl Women’s Center in Portland, OR demonstrates a technique for temporary ovarian suspension. This technique is useful for lifting the ovaries off the pelvic sidewall, exposing the area for treatment of endometriosis or other pathology.

 

 

Dr. Fogelson is a gynecologic surgeon and endometriosis specialist who practices at Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR.  Call 503-715-1377 for clinical consultation.  http://www.nwendometriosis.com

 

Categories: Endometriosis, Gynecology, Surgical Videos

On the Funding of Endometriosis Surgery

January 23, 2016 7 comments

As many of my readers know, I spend a fair amount of time online. I love interacting with other docs that do what I do, and even more so, I love interacting with women that have the conditions that I treat. Even though I have left academics, I am a teacher at heart, and enjoy the opportunity to pass on what I have learned when I can.

One of the biggest questions I see is about how endometriosis care is paid for.Cash-Loan

Unlike typical care, many endometriosis physicians are not under contract with insurers for care. This creates a whole different system for payment of medical care that is confusing to many patients – so let me explain it here. Read more…

Categories: Business of Medicine, Endometriosis, Gynecology

On Lena Dunham, and Why it is Hard to Find a Skilled Endometriosis Physician

January 4, 2016 6 comments

Recently I read an article by Lena Dunham, describing her life with endometriosis, treatment she has undergone, and how her life has been since.  Its a very poignant article about a successful woman who has been held back by her condition, yet also a story of incredible perseverance despite tremendous barriers.  Ms Dunham is a successful actress, producer, writer, and director, having created multiple films and the wildly successful (and awesome!) HBO series Girls, both as writer/director/producer and as principal actress.  She is also a woman who did these things despite tremendous pain from endometriosis.

Read more…

Categories: Endometriosis, Gynecology Tags: , , ,

Surgical Video: Resection of Rectal Endometriosis

December 16, 2015 Leave a comment

This video discusses  a case involving partial thickness colonic/rectal endometriosis with severe pain with defecation.  The video demonstrates dissection technique for bowel mobilization and resection of the lesion, as well as generalized intraperitoneal and retroperitoneal dissection techniques.
For clinical consultation with Dr Fogelson in Portland, OR, contact Pearl Women’s Center at 503-771-1883

 

 

Dr. Fogelson is a gynecologic surgeon and endometriosis specialist who practices at Northwest Endometriosis and Pelvic Surgery in Portland, OR.  Call 503-715-1377 for clinical consultation.  http://www.nwendometriosis.com

 

Categories: Endometriosis, Gynecology, Surgical Videos, Uncategorized
%d bloggers like this: