Endometriosis Awareness - Types of Surgeries

There are two types of surgical techniques used to get rid of endometriosis;

"Excision and Coagulation.

Excision

Excision removes endometrial implants by cutting them away from the surrounding tissue with scissors, a very fine heat gun or a laser beam.

The technique does not damage the implants, so the gynecologist is able to send a biopsy of the excised tissue to the pathologist to confirm that it is endometriosis and not cancer or another condition.

Excision allows the gynecologist to separate the implants from the surrounding tissue, thus ensuring that the entire implant is removed and no endometrial tissue is left.

Coagulation

Coagulation destroys implants by burning them with a fine heat gun or vaporizing them with a laser beam.

When coagulating implants, care must be taken to ensure that the entire implant is destroyed, so it cannot regrow.  Care must also be taken to ensure that only the implant is destroyed, and no underlying tissue, such as the bowel, bladder or ureter, is damaged. The possibility of accidentally damaging the underlying tissue means that most gynecologists are wary of using coagulation on implants that lie over vital organs, such as the bowel and large blood vessels.

Which technique?

Of the two techniques, excision is more effective, requires more skill, and is more time-consuming.

The skill and time required means that it is not used by all gynecologists. If your gynecologist does not have the skill to excise all your endometriotic implants, ask to be referred to a gynecologist who specializes in endometriosis surgery and is skilled in excision.

The effectiveness of excising endometriotic implants has been shown in two clinical trials. Women who had their implants excised had fewer symptoms 12 months and 18 months  after surgery compared with women who underwent a laparoscopy without excision of their implants." 

Endometriosis.org

I cannot help with the science of it all but I can tell you that I healed quicker and went back to handling life much faster with the excision then with the coagulation. Everyone who is well known in the endo community will tell you excision is the way to go. With my experience, I have to agree.