UPDATE on CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN

NEW DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE CHANGING PATIENT CARE

CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN

ENDOMETRIOSIS Is surgery the best treatment?…Teenagers get endometriosis, too… Aromatase inhibitors

Principal Scientist, Sciences International, Inc.,
Alexandria, Va, and Adjunct Professor,
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Georgetown University School of Medicine,
Washington, DC

Surgery may not be the best option for diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis, one of the most common causes of chronic pelvic pain. Although laparoscopy has been the traditional approach, new findings show surgery may cause more adhesions than it removes.

Recent research has also focused on endometriosis in adolescents—and the lack of consensus on what treatment is best. Finally, aromatase inhibitors, a new class of hormone-based therapy, look promising for treatment of pain due to endometriosis.