Health: Marmande hospital recognized as an endometriosis treatment center

The center will be officially inaugurated on July 10, but consultations will begin to treat this disease.

A new care pathway is opening at the maternity ward of the Intercommunal Hospital Center (CHIC) in Marmande-Tonneins. Under the leadership of department head Nicolas Nocart, the ward has just been certified as a multidisciplinary center for endometriosis care in the Lot-et-Garonne department, level 2, in the two towns of Val de Garonne.

"Being affiliated with a network is part of the national endometriosis strategy. This means that surgically speaking, we treat simple cases, that is, those that do not suffer from lesions in the digestive or urinary tract," summarizes the head of department. The doctor adds that no two cases are alike. "It can affect any organ, and the most common lesions are located at the back of the uterus."

In concrete terms, patients will be received, examined via a signposted route and, depending on the case, will then be referred to the Bordeaux University Hospital Center, which can treat the most difficult cases.

It can be a source of infertility, but especially of pain during sexual intercourse or periods.

"There are ten of us gynecologists in the building, and we're all going to work together to treat this disease. We're going to expand the team: we're bringing in the head of the women's imaging department from Bordeaux for part-time work. Some are already trained with a diploma in endometriosis and to perform repeat ultrasounds. It's not easy, but it allows us to see if there are any large lesions on the ovaries or adenomyosis, a particular form of endometriosis," explains Dr. Nocart, who has been preparing for this course for almost a year and will be using several methods, including electrostimulation.

"The trend is still towards less and less surgery. It's important to have this specificity when we know that it takes an average of 7 to 8 years to diagnose this disease and that it can be a source of infertility, but especially pain during sexual intercourse or menstruation," the gynecologist continues. One in ten women, from the age of 17-18, are affected by this pathology.

Information: 05 53 20 32 20.