Endometriosis: Laparoscopic vs. Robotic Surgery – Which is Better?

The initial typical picture of the patient with endometriosis is usually associated with pelvic adhesions. Pelvic adhesions are a common cause of infertility in patients.

There is a big role of doing a good laparoscopic surgery in patients who are suffering from endometriosis because once we are able to achieve a complete clearance of the disease along with Restoration of the entire anatomy of the pelvis this has a distinct advantage in ovulation as well as in improving the hormonal parameters which are existing in the uterus and in the ovary and all his factors combined together play a vital role in enhancing the fertility of the patient.

Laparoscopic surgery is considered to be the treatment of choice and is the gold standard in endometriosis. In laparoscopy units which are using 3D experience a much better perception of the depth in the pelvis as a result of which they are able to provide with a much better clearance of the entire disease.

Laparoscopic surgery routinely performs the technique across many locations in India. However it is extremely important to not understand that laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis requires extremely special training and an extremely special skill set. This is not commonly available across the country and as a result of which patients end up in the hands of non expert surgical units where the entire excision of the disease does not occur and this increases the rate of recurrence.

As a result of this, the recurrence rate associated with endometriosis is close to 40%. However, when an expert like the team of Dr Jay Mehta, the best doctor for endometriosis performs the surgeries because they are specifically trending in endometriosis they have been consistently reported to have a recurrence rate of less than 3% across the entire spectrum of endometriosis and its wide range of complex surgeries.

Robotic surgery is a well-marketed product in the industry. Robotic surgery does not lead to any increment in the Patient safety. In fact robotic surgery is associated with an extremely increased cost of usage of the equipment to the patient. At the moment in India, this is an out-of-pocket expense for the patient. An expert laparoscopic surgeon in Mumbai, Dr. Jay Mehta can give better outcomes to the patient as compared to a robotic surgery.

If the excision of endometriosis has been completed and the anatomy has been restored completely in that situation almost all patients provided they have adequate fertility parameters are allowed to carry out conception within 2 to 3 months of the surgery. At the time of the surgery anatomy and pattern see of the fallopian tubes is tested. Simultaneously a hysteroscopic examination of the uterine cavity is also performed.

The decision to conceive naturally or to try IUI or IVF is actually based upon the patient parameters and upon the ability of the surgical team to achieve clearance and establish a normal anatomy. As a result of this one May find that when they choose to get operated with an expert surgeon the probability that they will be able to conceive naturally following the surgery can go up exponentially. This entire decision requires close coordination between the fertility specialist and the laparoscopic surgeon.

Fortunately, Doctor Jay Mehta is an extremely renowned laparoscopic surgeon in Mumbai and a top fertility specialist in India. As a result, these patients are able to experience the good side of both the subspecialties when they are under treatment of Doctor Jay Mehta and his team.

There could be some IVF departments, which recommend no laparoscopic surgery prior to performing embryo transfer. However it has been proven without any doubt that if there is presence of a deep nodule there is definitely an alteration, of the hormonal milieu, this has been consistently proving to affect the oocyte quality as well as reduce the implantation of the embryo.

As a result of which IVF unit that has the capability and capacity to execute an expert laparoscopic surgery should strongly consider doing so before doing the embryo transfer. This allows incomplete Restoration of the anatomy and will definitely increase the implantation rates.

Yes this is a common thing. Several patients are referred to Dr. Jay Mehta for fertility enhancing surgeries from our fellow fertility colleagues. Patients are encouraged to consider this option should they be willing to do so.