In an interview with CNN This Sunday (24), the clinical doctor and cardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar explained that not all cases of endometriosis require surgery, as happened with singer Anitta — who is still in recovery after being operated on in São Paulo.
“Surgical treatment is not the most common treatment, we often manage to contain the disease with hormonal treatment, with hormonal modulation, diet, modification of life habits. Surgery is a very effective treatment, but we use it for more advanced cases”, said the doctor, who is part of the team that is taking care of Anitta.
It is estimated that, worldwide, the endometriosis affects about 180 million women, more than 7 million in Brazil alone. According to Hajjar, one of the main obstacles in the fight against the disease is the late diagnosis: “when we make the diagnosis of endometriosis, usually, the woman already has, on average, seven years of endometriosis.”
Although, in severe cases, the infection causes irreversible infertility, the doctor explains that “endometriosis is a very common disease”, which has treatment.
“Endometrium is the inner layer that lines the uterus. The inner layer that covers the uterus, when the menstrual cycle occurs, it undergoes flaking and that is why a woman menstruates on a regular basis. In endometriosis, due to a series of mechanisms that are being studied and better clarified, during the period in which the endometrium should slough and menstrual flow occurs in a normal way, a retrograde flow occurs”, she explains.
Given the high number of cases of the disease, Hajjar warns of the importance of seeking assistance in the face of any of the symptoms, such as:
- Pain during the menstrual period;
- Pain during sexual activity;
- Changes in the urinary and intestinal tracts.
“Is it common for women to have menstrual cramps? It is common, but a mild, self-limiting cramping. It is not common for this colic to be intense, for it to be periodically recurring, for it to actually generate a problem for the woman, a severe pain”, he warns. In these cases, “she has to seek medical assistance”, says the doctor.
Source: CNN Brasil
