How to Diagnose Endometriosis to Improve Fertility Treatment

Abstract

There is a 25-50% higher incidence of endometriosis in infertility populations and there is a 30-50% higher incidence of infertility for people with endometriosis with a significantly lower monthly chance of fertility than healthy women (2-10% vs 15-20%). However, because of the need for surgery, endometriosis is often diagnosed after starting ART treatment, with an estimate that 43-63% of those with an unexplained infertility have undiagnosed endometriosis. Diagnosing endometriosis during rather than before infertility treatments reduces the likelihood of reporting a birth and increases the chance of having a high order number of IVF cycles. Our Guest, Dr Matthew Leonardi will describe how specialised endometriosis scans can be used to diagnose endometriosis, including caveats around interpreting scans and the use of MRI. Professor M. Louise Hull will present cases demonstrating how endometriosis imaging diagnostics can improve clinical decision making in fertility practice.