Vaginal septal disease? What on earth is this??

[ladydady]

Hi ladies! I just collected my referral letter from my GP ready for my private endo specialist appointment on Saturday. My doctor very kindly attached a letter from my last consultant when I had a lap 2 years ago, and it says I have 'severe vaginal septal disease'. This is news to me and I have no idea what it is. Even Google can't tell me! Have any of you ladies heard this before? I'm a little worried

[Impatient]

Vaginal Septal Disease in this case is probably saying that severe or deep endo was found on the outside of the Vagina tube most likely in the POD (Pouch of Douglas) which is specifically on the rear muscle wall of the vagina and growing into it.

the recto (rear) vaginal (vagina) septum (muscle wall) is just the back wall of the vagina. Or the front of the POD which is that gap down between the bowel and the vagina and one of the most common sites for endo to grow and endo bleeds to end up as gravity will mean any active bleeding from endo elsewhere tends to fall down and the main place it lands up is in the POD and it cannot escape from there and endo cells can easily start nesting there and causing a nuisance. The word Severe in terms of endo, means that it has grown in to the muscle. It is not something that a laser treatment would work on. It needs surgical excision to cut it out deep enough to get every last of the endo cells out. Or if it is not the site that is troubling you then can be left alone but it is something that would need attacking at some stage.

It is highly likely to make having sex or smear tests VERY painful indeed. It can also mean pain during bowel movements too.

The term can be used for other diseases that have affected the vaginal wall, but as your case was talking about endo, it would be safe to assume the surgeon was describing the location of the severe [deep] part of your endo as invading in to the vaginal wall from the outside of it. Hope that makes sense. If in doubt-- you could always write to the surgeon and send a copy of the letter and ask him to explain. If he had suspected an STD or cancer or something else you would have been given post op treatments ....I would hope !!!

gynsurgery.org/ols/uploads/...

links to a piccie -the black coloured patch is a deep endo in the POD...in your case it is probably more impacting in the vaginal wall than the bowel wall.

[Impatient]

Just wondering why almost every single endo picture has a normal tilted uterus..when most of us ladies with endo have a retroverted uterus tilting the other way...making a neat pocket of the POD?

[ladydady]

Thanks for your reply! This makes more sense now. I do have endo in my pod that they couldn't remove during my lap 2 years ago. I was advised I need open surgery by an endo specialist and possibly a colo-rectal surgeon to remove it from there. I have my initial appointment this Saturday so will see what the specialist recommends. I don't fancy the hormonal treatment options tbh. What's your experience with endo? You sound like you know your stuff!