is an MRI only looking for DIE?

[pinkie25]

I’ve had an ultrasound at a general hospital by a general gynaecologist and it was normal. I then saw an endometriosis specialist and he said he normally does ultrasound first but mine was inconclusive. He then gave options of the laparoscopy to look for endometriosis but said it could be a stressful situation, or an MRI which he said is less invasive. We agreed to have an MRI and he said I’ll probably need surgery anyway. The scan department said I’ll be having a cannula with buscopan so they can look at my bowel and that they might use the dye.

Is it true that MRI will only pick up DIE cause the specialist said endometriosis is very likely to show on the MRI they’re going to do, but I’ve only seen that DIE is what will show up on an MRI.

[RosieFalkor]

I had a laparoscopy which found Endo all over the place. I then had an MRI which only found a bit and my endometrioma. I think laparoscopy is better if it’s not DIE.

[pinkie25 in reply to RosieFalkor]

I don’t really know what stage he thinks it might be though I do know they’re using buscopan and looking at my bowel. He’s a specialist and said endometriosis is very likely to show up on MRI but I’m confused cause I’ve only seen stage 4 is very likely to show on MRI and if he thinks I have a severe stage, it’s a bit weird to not tell me and my parents.

[Awwy]

Hi Endometriosis can show on an mri it is all about the type of scan they do. T1 and T2 weighted images and the skill of the person reading the scan. Must be trained in endometriosis.

T1 - shows anatomy clearly

T2 -shows more of the lesions, what they are, inflammation, etc...

The NHS guidelines changed from laparoscopy to MRI scans as a gold standard a while ago. If you have DIE, then you should be referred to an endo specalist centre called BSGE where there is a multidisciplinary team of specalists that look at your case.

Mri's can pick up a lot... so it's good that they are doing that.

I think 94% of cases are picked up by an mri.

Mine was actually picked up on a ct scan. They were looking for something else and found endometriosis .

Hope this helps.

[pinkie25 in reply to Awwy]

I wasn’t referred anywhere cause my gp didn’t want to put me on a several year long waiting list, so parents paid private and saw Mohamed mabrouk and he said it sounds like endometriosis (he didn’t specify how bad it could be) he suggested surgery or MRI so we chose MRI though he said I’ll probably need surgery anyway. My MRI is happening on Tuesday.

[Awwy in reply to pinkie25]

Totally understand why you went private. It took me over 4 years to get surgery on NHS but that's because my endometriosis was so severe took me 15 years to get a diagnosis. There were not a lot of surgeons who would agree to do mine . I'm currently 6 weeks post op, I had a lot of complications was in ICU for 7 days.

Get the scan results first then by all means come back and let us know how you got on.

My advice is that it's always good for specalists to have an idea what they are going to face when they do go in. There is nothing not even an investigative laparoscopy that will prepare them for the actual day of the operation. That's because endometriosis is a progressive condition and it will change from the time between an mri scan to your op. It gives them enough information to be prepared. E.g. multi disciplinary approach if your bowel and bladder are involved? What other organs are involved if any.

I changed my specalist centre half way through because I didn't have confidence in the first team I was referred to. That added an addition 18 months on to my wait but it was the best decision I made. My aftercare was amazing as I was soo poorly after it.

I did cost up my private surgery, and I was looking at £28k +. As a single mum I couldn't afford that.

It's always best to ask questions to understand the full picture.

Ps. I was told I would have a stoma and a catheter after my surgery. I don't have either. 😀. Again they will give you the best case scenario so you know what to expect. X

[HeatherYax]

My endometriosis was not picked up on mri but had it prior to surgery. Its good to do and of course laproscopy surgery is a significant operation with 4+ weeks recovery time and very invasive. The concern is that they do mri say no endo and then don't do surgery when there could be endo to be removed. I have had to laproscopy and neither time was it picked up on mri.

[pinkie25 in reply to HeatherYax]

The specialist I saw suggested MRI or laparoscopy, he said MRI is less invasive so we chose that option but he then said I’ll probably need surgery anyway