Endometriosis affects an estimated 200 million women and girls of reproductive age globally. This invisible condition is slowly starting to receive the much-needed recognition in Europe. Recent studies and expert testimonies underscore the growing need for specialized healthcare centers to adequately address the complexities of this disease. As the demand for effective treatment rises, leading medical professionals advocate for the establishment and expansion of expert endometriosis centers across the continent.
Ranee Thakar, MD, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, and Horace Roman, MD, a founding member of IFEM Endo, underscore the need for specialized centers. They argue that these centers are necessary for appropriately treating the most difficult cases. Diagnostic delays are shockingly long in recent years, 7.4 years in the Netherlands and as high as 10.4 years in Germany and Austria. This illustrates the essential demand for a higher-value care model.
The Institut Franco-Européen Multidisciplinaire d’Endométriose (IFEM Endo) in France is a testament to how multidisciplinary specialist centers can create impact. They conduct over 8,000 private consultations and over 1,000 surgeries annually. Semmelweis University’s endometriosis center in Budapest cares for approximately 2,500 patients annually. Even more strikingly, 15% of these patients are noncitizens who travel to the U.S. specifically for care. These centers are ideally positioned to provide the multidisciplinary care required by this complex disease. It’s a disabling condition often racked with misdiagnosis and mistreatment.
The Need for Specialized Care
For many, endometriosis is persistently misdiagnosed or even ignored, resulting in average treatment delays of 12 years. A recent report from the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) calls keeping such holistic multidisciplinary care a priority. This approach is central to realizing optimal care for endometriosis. Unfortunately, only 16% of non-specialist hospitals are able to deliver this type of care.
Dr. Horace Roman commented on the implications of these delays, stating, “For me, it’s unacceptable that there’s still a diagnostic delay as long as 10 years in Europe… one of the most common misdiagnoses is appendicitis, which is unbelievable because they are completely different diseases.”
To address this gap in care, specialist centers provide a concentrated purpose. These specialized centers use interdisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals to holistically treat all aspects of endometriosis. Dr. Ranee Thakar noted that women experience better care when referred to specialist centers and have access to specialized nurses.
Advances in Research and Treatment
In the past few years, the landscape of endometriosis research has changed dramatically. Meanwhile, specialists are achieving an important breakthrough in identifying genetic and molecular components of the disease. Leading the charge on these, for instance, is Paola Vigano, PhD, of Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan. “I think endometriosis is a disease of the 21st century,” she remarked. “The change in knowledge about its genetic and molecular aspects are far richer now in 2025 compared with 2000.”
This increased awareness, in turn, has translated into greater funding for research-driven efforts throughout Europe. Dr. Vigano was pleased to see the progress, like more centers of excellence and increased awareness of the disease. Yet, key disparities remain, and closing those gaps is necessary to improve the health of all women with endometriosis.
Additionally, experts have pointed to a number of reasons for the increasing incidence of endometriosis. Vigano elaborated on lifestyle changes: “The age of menarche has dramatically decreased, the age of conception has increased, the number of kids women are having has decreased, and breastfeeding rates have declined.” What she finds particularly concerning is that environmental factors — whether pollutants or bacteria — might be contributing to this trend.
The Role of Training and Education
To further combat the challenges posed by endometriosis, leading specialists are committed to educating fellow healthcare providers through workshops, fellowships, and masterclasses focused on surgical techniques for treating this condition. Dr. Horace Roman has been making strides in this direction since he devoted his surgical practice to the treatment of endometriosis in 2005.
“In our center, we perform a large number of procedures for rare endometriosis,” he stated. “This is routine for us, and it should be for each expert center worldwide.” This training serves to empower doctors with the skills they need to make sure patients don’t experience adverse effects. In turn, patients across the country benefit from treatment by professionals who are specially trained and possess a deeper knowledge base.
Dr. Attila Bokor, who heads Semmelweis University’s endometriosis center, seconded this notion. He noted that the complexity of endometriosis results in patients seeing multiple specialists. On average, they visit at least five to seven physicians before receiving a diagnosis. His center has adopted a philosophy of focusing on preserving organ function after surgery along with improving patients’ quality of life.
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