Total Treatment of Endometriosis

Any discussion of endometriosis would be incomplete without an acknowledgment of the exceptional contributions Joe Vincent Meigs made to our understanding of this clinical entity. From the time of our founding member’s first published paper (Meigs, 1922) until his death, he was a contributor to our understanding of this disease. It was Meigs, who in his first publication pointed out the “atrophy” of endometriosis that occurred during pregnancy and lactation. In spite of this exceedingly important observation, 44 years ago, endometriosis was often treated like a malignant lesion. However, clinical understanding has led to the increasing use of conservative measures. It is no longer common to find ourselves at the dead-end of gynecological therapy for endometriosis, viz., total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in young women. To determine how successful conservative measures have been in preserving pelvic function as well as helping to bring about a symptom-free patient, we have turned to actual clinical material.