Dr Edi-Osagie on leading the latest BSGE endometriosis specialist centre to launch in Manchester
Introducing Manchester’s latest BSGE centre at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle, Manchester
A few weeks ago, I signed up to watch a webinar hosted by the Circle Health Group on the topic of endometriosis. It was delivered by consultant gynaecologist Dr Edi-Osagie based at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle in South Manchester. I was really interested in hearing more from him as a number of my own patients with highly complex endometriosis see him at St Mary’s in Manchester City Centre and have spoken very highly of his expertise and approach. Following the webinar, I was left impressed by his level of professionalism and at the patient-centred approach that he and his team adopt. I also learned at the webinar that the Alexandra Hospital was going to be formally recognised as a BSGE (British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy) centre in April 2023 and wanted to find out more.
Some of you who live in Manchester who have been diagnosed with endometriosis will be only too aware of the delays in accessing surgery at current BSGE centres in the North West. Whilst it’s great there are tertiary clinics like these available, unfortunately many issues including COVID-19, chronic underfunding and staff shortages have been contributing to NHS backlogs in accessing treatment. These are causing long delays to surgery for a significant proportion of endometriosis patients - in some of my own patients in Manchester, despite having high needs and complex endometriosis, they have still been waiting for longer than 2 years. I knew that a new centre like this would be in high demand and I decided to speak to Dr Edi-Osagie about what referring clinicians and patients can expect from it.
As a formally accredited BSGE site, Dr Edi-Osagie will be offering world-class treatments from the Alexandra Hospital for endometriosis patients, particularly those with complex needs. A multi-disciplinary team of specialists typically work together to meet the needs of patients and these include gynaecologists, urologists, colorectal surgeons, fertility specialists, pain specialists as well as psychologists. At the webinar, Dr Edi-Osagie already highlighted the value of a specialist surgery called excision over ablation. Ablation, from my own clinical experience, is too often responsible for endometriosis not being resolved in patients but the gold-standard excision surgery is a highly specialised technique and isn’t available from all gynaecological surgeons. Multiple poorly conducted surgeries from inexperienced surgeons has unfortunately meant that some endometriosis patients are having to deal not only with ongoing and recurring pain from failed surgeries, but also scarring and adhesions as a result of repeated pelvic surgeries and which can lead onto devastating consequences for fertility or chronic neuropathic pain due to delayed treatment. Being able to recommend a highly experienced surgeon at a BSGE centre is an absolute game-changer for any clinical specialist in Manchester treating chronic pelvic pain patients. Getting access to the right specialists for diagnosis as well as for treatment is only going to improve quality of life for these patients and allow girls and women to live their fullest life. As the recent Below the Belt documentary film has already shown, the average of 10 years that it takes to diagnose endometriosis is just not acceptable and we all need to work collectively to change this.
Besides surgical and medical treatment of endometriosis, Dr Edi-Osagie will also be able to provide fertility services from simple fertility profiling right through to assisted reproductive techniques such as IVF. He also brings his expertise from spearheading the early pregnancy unit at St Mary’s in Manchester as well as the recurrent miscarriage unit and will be offering these services privately at the Alexandra Hospital. Endometriosis can sometimes impact a woman’s fertility, especially if endometriomas or deep-infiltrating endometriosis are found. These can have very serious consequences on ovarian reserve or reproductive potential and being able to refer patients to a specialist who deals with endometriosis as well as fertility and recurrent miscarriage is a bit like gold-dust in my world of working in women’s health, chronic pain and fertility!
I’ll be updating you all about this new BSGE centre in the coming months, and am really looking forward to being able to recommend my own patients to this centre. Do watch this space, I know there will be more information to come!
