These patches of tissue are called endometrial implants.
How Common Is Endometriosis?
In the United States, about 10% of women in their reproductive years have endometriosis.
SimonSkafar / Getty Images
SimonSkafar / Getty Images
Symptoms of Thoracic Endometriosis
Many people with endometriosis dont experience any symptoms.
Those who do often notice that their symptoms show up or get worse around the time of their period.
No single known cause of endometriosis has been identified.
Others argue that endometriosis is related to an alteration in the types of the cells that line the uterus.
Catamenial Pneumothorax
About 80% of people with thoracic endometriosis experience a complication known as catamenial pneumothorax.
Catamenial pneumothorax is defined as a recurrent collapsed lung that occurs within 72 hours of menstruation.
The symptoms of catamenial pneumothorax include coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain.
The pain can also radiate to the neck and shoulder, typically on the right side of the body.
In the vast majority of cases, this pain occurs on the right side.
Hemoptysis
Catamenialhemoptysis(coughing up blood) occurs in approximately 5% of cases of thoracic endometriosis.
Usually, the bleeding is mild to moderate.
Severe, life-threatening blood loss is possible, but extremely rare.
Lung Nodules
Very rarely, thoracic endometriosis can lead to the development oflung nodules.
These lesions typically vary from 0.5 to 3 centimeters in diameter.
They are sometimes noticed on imaging tests during the process of diagnosing endometriosis.
How Is It Diagnosed?
Medication
Hormone therapy is typically the first-line treatment for endometriosis.
The first choice of surgical treatment for thoracic endometriosis is often video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).
Prognosis
Endometriosis is often treatable, but theres currently no known cure.
All types of endometriosisincluding thoracic endometriosiscan recur even after surgery or hormone therapy.
However, symptoms typically resolve after the onset of menopause.
It can also take some time to realize that your symptoms show up just before or during yourmenstrual cycle.
As with other kinds of endometriosis, thoracic endometriosis is often treated with hormone therapy to lower estrogen production.
If symptoms dont resolve with medication, surgery may be necessary.
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