About CEC & Our Team

Treatment at the CEC  |  Meet the CEC Team  |  Ask the CEC

The Center for Endometriosis Care (CEC) is a two-decade old specialty practice founded specifically to provide dedicated, expert care and treatment for this disease.

The CEC was formed under our four main principles:

• Recognizing subtle disease in all its manifestations.
• Removing all Endometriosis, while preserving a woman or girl's organs
  where and whenever possible.
• Performing pathological examination on all excised tissue.
• Treating women and girls - and their loved ones - with respect and
  compassion as partners in their healthcare.
   

We understand how stressful this disease can be.  The CEC strives to provide a relaxing and comforting environment for our patients.

Historically, medical textbooks teach that endometriosis looks like black powder burns. However, many studies have shown that black implants are not even the most common. Clear, white, red, yellow, blue and gray implants can also occur. A surgeon who looks only for black spots can miss significant disease. The CEC medical staff has many years and thousands of cases of experience in disease recognition. At the Center for Endometriosis Care, we consider any abnormal area of the peritoneum to be endometriosis until proven otherwise by pathology.

Once endometriosis is recognized, it is removed  via laparoscopic excision (LAPEX). Although this is a meticulous, highly detailed operation, most women are treated on an out-patient basis. Dr. Albee  and Dr. Sinervo use a CO₂ laser to dissect the disease. Endometriosis of the bowel and bladder can be safely and completely removed with the laser. A general surgeon is available for full bowel resections, if needed.

All excised tissue is sent to the Pathology lab for examination. You have the security of knowing exactly what was found. Surgical techniques such as electrocautery and laser vaporization (also called fulguration and ablation) destroy the tissue, making microscopic evaluation impossible. That's why we don't use them. CEC surgeons use the laser as a cutting tool, and not as a means of tissue destruction.

To that end, we promise you openness. Your records are always open to you. Complete copies of your operative, pathology, and staging reports are mailed to you as soon as they are available (most women have already left Atlanta in the few days after surgery it takes for these records to be completed).

We welcome your requests for free materials, questions and comments on every aspect of our program. By letting us know what's working well and what needs improvement, you can contribute to the quality of the Center for Endometriosis Care for the women who come after you.