Which type of ultrasound is best to detect endo?

[KittyTherapy]

Hi, should all ultrasounds be done transvaginal when investigating for endometriosis? Mine was just done on my tummy and I'm wondering if TV ultrasound would be more appropriate for possibly identifying deeper endo. What was your experience and would you recommend I request a TV US? Thanks ladies

[Looppydee]

hello!

If possible, I recommend MRI rather than ultrasound..my experience has always been that it is possible to see more clearly what’s happening and how deep it may be

[KittyTherapy in reply to Looppydee]

Hi,Thanks for your reply. I have had an MRI too and a lap. But had read that a transvaginal ultrasound can be helpful to give a fuller picture of any deep endometriosis so was interested to hear from people as to whether I should push for this also 🙂

[Loriiim]

Hi, I had 2 TV ultrasounds 3 months apart. First one showed nothing, the 2nd showed a lot! It all depends on the skill of the person looking at it. I've never had an external ultrasound to look for endo, or even to look at my ovaries in general, only to look at my bladder & kidneys. I'm not sure they can see things like the pouch of Douglas/sigmoid colon that way, nor do I think it's as accurate for measuring ovarian cysts etc. I've since had an MRI & the report was less detailed than my ultrasound - missed the bowel endo which I know is there from photos of previous lap. Again, all depends on who's looking at it. I would push for a TV ultrasound & just make sure the person doing it is qualified for looking for endo.

[KittyTherapy in reply to Loriiim]

Thank you so much for your reply! That's really helpful. It was only after joining this group that i started to pick up on the fact my US was external and i thought that was a bit odd. I have my follow up appt with gynae next week (non specialist) so i was thinking to ask for a referral onto a specialist/ BSGE centre for further input and then hopefully they can arrange the TV US x

[Marcia71 in reply to KittyTherapy]

There’s criteria for referral to a bsge centre. As in deep endo or endo affecting bladder or bowel but they do have access to the specialist scanners that can spot this on TVUS. As said already it’s more about the skill of the scanners. My deep endo was missed on an mri but seen on a transvaginal ultrasound.

[KittyTherapy in reply to Marcia71]

Hi, thanks. I've had an MRI which indicated advanced endo with kissing ovaries and an endometrioma. And I had a lap in March which showed a lot of adhesions including bowel involvement. I have my gynae followup next week so hoping to hear more about the findings in detail. I'm hoping this is enough to meet the criteria for referral to BSGE centre.

[Marcia71 in reply to KittyTherapy]

Hope they give you more answers but yes kissing ovaries would usually suggest severe endo. Good luck.