New Clinic Announcement!

The Manchester Adolescent Endometriosis Clinic is now open at the MC Clinic in Swinton, Greater Manchester.

This clinic will provide diagnosis and treatment options for pelvic pain and endometriosis is teenagers in the Northwest of England and further afield. The great benefit of this clinic is that the test and consultation will be conducted in an age-appropriate environment, and the teenager will be seen by a specialised senior adolescent gynaecologist.

During the clinic appointment, an Endosure test will be performed. The adolescent will then be seen, the results given and a treatment plan discussed by Dr Gail, the most senior Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecologist in the region and the Lead for Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology at the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust – St Mary’s Hospital and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

The Endosure test is a painless, non-invasive diagnostic test for endometriosis. Dr Gail has been waiting for a long time for such a test, as she sees so many adolescents with pelvic pain and painful periods, and it can be challenging to know if they are due to endometriosis or not. In adolescents we are limited in the information available to us, as unlike in adult women, we are unable to do an internal pelvic examination. Also, adolescents are less likely to have endometriotic deposits that are visible on ultrasound or MR scans.

In the past, a difficult clinical situation arose in which a decision had to be made to progress to laparoscopic surgery or not. The issue with this is the possibility of a negative laparoscopy – no endometriosis found, or on the other hand, a delay in diagnosis due to trying multiple less-invasive, medical options prior to performing surgery.

We are looking forward to this clinic which can guide diagnosis without the need for surgery. The adolescent and family can then choose if they wish to try medical options or proceed with surgery. Additionally, girls who have a negative Endosure test will know that they don’t have endometriosis and can be treated appropriately without having had to resort to an operation to obtain this information.