Many people may think that abdominal pain is such a small issue of life, because people can be better after taking medication. In fact, stomach pain can lead to various diseases for women.

The cause of stomachache in women

   Currently, more and more women are suffering with gynecological diseases. The most common is Endometriosis where endometrial tissue is found outside the uterus. Many people think that abdominal pain during the period is normal, but some cases might have serious pain until there is a need to get painkillers. Some people have associated symptoms, such as pain in the lower back and coccyx, some case have serious stomach pain during defecation in the menstruation period, some people have diarrhea, urinary infrequency, or some women have lower abdominal or pain of the uterus during sexual activity. Those conditions are the symptoms of “Endometriosis” which can be detected by a pelvic or rectal examination. By using the fingers to manually feel inside the pelvic, it is often possible to feel a small mass on the wall of posterior uterus. An exam can also be done by endometriosis with a Laparoscopy to look for endometrial tissue outside the uterus.

   During every menstrual cycle, if ovulation takes place and the egg isn't fertilized, the lining of the uterus sheds through the vagina. This is a menstrual period, and after the period the endometrial will become thicker to prepare for the eggs of the next cycle. Although the exact cause of endometriosis is not certain, several possible explanations include: Retrograde menstruation. This is the most likely explanation for endometriosis. In retrograde menstruation, menstrual blood containing endometrial cells flows back through the fallopian tubes and into the pelvic cavity instead of out of the body. These displaced endometrial cells stick to the pelvic walls and surfaces of the pelvic organs, where they grow and continue to thicken and bleed over the course of each menstrual cycle, which causes the body to produce adhesion cover around the intestine, the ovaries, the fallopian tubes, and can cause ovarian cysts called “Chocolate cysts” which can cause abdominal pain during the period, or in some cases may be the cause of infertility as well. Most are found in women aged above 20 years, but it is possible to find from 14 years upwards, especially in people with congenital abnormalities of the uterus, however, it is found in up to 15 percent of women in the reproductive age.

Is it possible to treat a chocolate cyst?

The laparoscopy surgery is a safe technique nowadays, with small size incisions compared to open surgery. The incision lesion is about 1 cm in diameter, and a high magnification of laparoscope is 5-20 times, so the doctor can perform the operation precisely, and minimize the harm to other organs near the uterus. This patient stays in the hospital for 1-2 days after the surgery, while a patient with open surgery will have large incisions and have to stay in hospital 4-7 days, and have to recover at home for about 4-6 weeks before return to normal life. Also, the complications of open surgery are more frequent compared to laparoscopy surgery.

By Dr. Prateep Hanidhikul, M.D., obstetrician /Gynecologic Laparoscopic Surgery Center/Fertility Center Tel. 0-2586 - 7888 ext 7901, 2401, 2402