Thoracoscopy/VATS

A surgical procedure wherein the surgeon can examine, biopsy, or resection of disease of the pleural lining of the lungs and/or thoracic cavity.

Endometriosis & the Diaphragm

| Bloomin' Uterus
Courtesy of Wikimedia

If you’ve been a long-time follower of the blog, you may remember in 2014 when my surgeon found Endometriosis on my diaphragm. Several years later, it had completely disappeared (yay!). And it hasn’t been found in any of my subsequent surgeries. This research has been a lot of fun because of my own personal journey.

We’ve previously shared Endo Lady UK‘s experience with her own diaphragmatic Endometriosis, as well as a surgery to remove diaphragmatic Endo. We’ve even had a few brave readers, Lyndsay and Tabitha, share their own stories about endo on their diaphragm.

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Surgeries for Diaphragmatic Endometriosis

| Bloomin' Uterus
Text that reads Laparoscopic management of diaphragmatic endometriosis by three different approaches

A video released on April 19, 2016, discusses three surgical options for removing diaphragmatic Endometriosis.   As you may know, I have Endometriosis on my diaphragm (and I’m not talking about the birth control), as do several other EndoWarriors that I know.  What does that mean?  Read all about Endo and the lungs or diaphragmatic Endo.  If you’d like to know what Endometriosis looks like inside some patients, fast forward to the 4:01 mark of the video…

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Endometriosis & The Lungs

| Bloomin' Uterus
Graphic of human lungs

I’ve read bits and pieces here and there that Endometriosis can grow on or inside of your lungs.  An EndoSister had posted in one of the many Facebook support groups that I follow that she has Endo on her lungs, which causes her to cough up a lot of blood.  Others replied that they have it as well, but it leaves them in the hospital with collapsed lungs every month.  Which got my juices flowin’ to find the documented cases of Endometriosis on the lungs, how it was excised (if at all), etc.  Here goes!  This is NOT meant to scare you.  Just educate us all, including myself.

Endometriosis is usually found within the pelvic cavity, but has also been known to be found northward and latching onto the liver and diaphragm.  It has also been found on the membranes surrounding the lungs and heart.  Even rarer, it has been found on the brain, in the lymph nodes, and on the eyes.

Thoracic or Pulmonary Endometriosis is when Endometriosis implants/adhesions are found in your thoracic region, and can be found on your trachea, bronchi, diaphragm, lungs, or heart.  It was first medically documented in 1953.  Today, we focus on the lungs.

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