For this first event, medical and paramedical professionals from the region shared conferences and practical workshops on specific, cutting-edge themes. Objective: “Offer multidisciplinary, global, satisfactory care and take stock of future projects”, explains Professor Claude Hocké, president of Afena and head of the gynecological surgery and reproductive medicine department at the Bordeaux University Hospital. .
More than 200,000 in the region
In the region, endometriosis affects 135,000 to 225,000 Aquitaines. This inflammatory and chronic disease of the female reproductive system is characterized by the development of the uterine lining outside the uterus, which colonizes the neighboring organs (colon, intestines, bladder, etc.).
Endometriosis can have major repercussions on personal life, but also on marital, professional and social life, which is why it has become a public health issue.
On average, it is diagnosed seven years following the first symptoms, usually pain during menstruation and intercourse, and infertility. Disabling, endometriosis can have major repercussions on personal life, but also on marital, professional and social life, which is why it has become a public health issue.
Structuring the sector
Before the presidential announcements, the Aquitaine healthcare sector had already begun to structure itself, “but the government plan has brought new light”, supports Professor Xavier Fritel, secretary general of Afena and obstetrician surgeon at the Poitiers University Hospital. A momentum sprinkled with subsidies (4.5 million euros), which will make it possible to intensify the effort around several axes.
First objective of the association: “to offer equal access to care” in the territory, and to inform patients, in particular regarding the care sector, by providing them with a map of certified practitioners, as well as specialized centers, and by listing the referring medical and paramedical professionals. Also inform patients of the sites equipped with MRI, and very quickly direct them to an assisted procreation service if there is a desire for maternity. In fact, endometriosis is the leading cause of infertility in France.
Improve training
The association also wants to promote the continuous training of health and paramedical professionals, in particular on the detection of the disease, contraceptive monitoring, imaging, or the use of support care. “The management of endometriosis is not always the responsibility of a hyperspecialist”, supports Dr Benjamin Merlot, coordinating doctor of the association and founding member of the Franco-European multidisciplinary institute of endometriosis at the Tivoli clinic in Bordeaux. The entry points are in fact general practitioners, midwives, school nurses: “We have to train them so that they know how to listen and spot the symptoms. »
Management of chronic pain
“In 2023, we have a big effort to make to improve the management of chronic pain”, supports Professor Hocké. “Treatment does not stop at the diagnosis but it is also regarding listening to the patient, and if necessary, directing her to a pain center, an algologist or support care”.
Tomorrow’s care must be inspired by that which applies today for breast cancer, taking into account the patient and her pathology as a whole.
If the management of the pathology is difficult, it is also because imaging does not always give answers, and treatments (usually contraception) are not always conclusive. “Hence the importance of relying on a multidisciplinary team. »
