Endometriosis Centres Subcommittee

The Endometriosis Centres project continues to grow and gain respect. In 2018, the BSGE Endometriosis Centres Scientific Advisory Group published ground-breaking research in BMJ Open. Laparoscopic excision of deep rectovaginal endometriosis in BSGE endometriosis centres: a multicentre prospective cohort study, wasthe largest study of its kind in the world. Using data from the Endometriosis Centres, the study looked at nearly 5000 patients who had surgery for severe endometriosis, performed by more than 100 different surgeons in 51 different hospitals. Dominic Byrne, past BSGE President, said:

“The BSGE has worked for over a decade to establish and accredit a network of specialist Endometriosis Centres, so patients with severe endometriosis can have access to specialist laparoscopic surgery. This paper is the culmination of this enormous effort and reports the outcome of nearly 5,000 patients. It is a landmark moment.”

Emma Cox, Chief Executive of Endometriosis UK welcomed the research saying it

‘Clearly shows the necessity and positive effects of laparoscopic excisional surgery for women with rectovaginal endometriosis. This is proof that – done by experts in specialist centres – surgery can reduce pain and severe symptoms, enabling women to stay in work as well as improving their quality of life.’

NICE published a guideline on endometriosis in 2017. BSGE Endometriosis Centres were recognised within this. They are seen as an opportunity to deliver a specialist service nationally which should prove to be beneficial to patients and more cost effective.

Future challenges

In the future, one of the challenges will be to decide how far or how wide the scope of the Endometriosis Centres should be. There has been a great deal of international interest in developing centres. We need to understand how broad we can make the project and continue to ensure that centres are appropriately accredited.

Following successful publication, we look forward to continuing to use the database as a source of information and research output. However, data protection is a further challenge for the portfolio, accordingly we have made a decision to make all patient data anonymous.

Exemplar Videos

Exemplar videos were introduced in 2016 and have now been embedded in accreditation. The accreditation process is evolving and a minimum of 10 hours per week became mandatory for centre accreditation in 2018. Exemplar videos need to be completed by the end of December and will be assessed in January 2019.

I look forward to updating you on the progress of the Centres both on the website and in a future edition of The Scope, please get in touch if you have any comments or suggestions for the portfolio.