An ovarian graft reversed my menopause symptoms
LYNSEY HOPE hears about one woman’s life-changing experience of a groundbreaking new operation
WHEN she was 31, Emeline Wilson had both ovaries removed in a bid to cure her endometriosis, a painful disorder which she’d battled since her twenties. The procedure would usually lead to early menopause along with all the symptoms – hot flushes, fatigue and migraines.
But a state-of-the-art operation – which hit the headlines earlier this month for promising to help women delay their menopause – cured her symptoms and, incredibly, restored her monthly cycle.
Emeline, a marketing manager, who lives in Tamworth, Staffordshire, is one of only a handful of people to have had the operation, which could potentially halt her menopause for another 20 years.
“I was 21 when I started suffering with endometriosis, says the 32-year-old.
“I had painful periods and cramping. On a few occasions I was admitted to A&E after fainting with severe pain. For a long time I was fobbed off, with doctors telling me it was all in my head.”
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other parts of the body, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes and can cause infertility.
It was when Emeline was 28 and she and her husband Luke, now 30, started trying for a baby that she saw Mr Yousri Afifi, chief medical officer at ProFaM, the Protecting Fertility and Menopause clinic in Birmingham.
“We’d started trying for a baby when I was 26 but it wasn’t working. Even when I did fall pregnant, I would miscarry. I suffered three miscarriages early on.
“I had an awful experience with one fertility specialist so I did my research and came across Mr Afifi online and asked to be referred to him.
“He performed several surgeries where he cut away some of the patches of endometriosis tissue. Incredibly, this worked and when I was 29 I fell pregnant with our daughter Luna, now two.
“What Mr Afifi did was life-changing for me. I’d never have been a mum.”
But a couple of months after giving birth, my symptoms returned and were worse than ever. I was in a lot of pain.
“I knew at this point I didn’t want any more children and thought I might need a hysterectomy. Mr Afifi said one of the options was to remove my ovaries as they were in a bad condition. I was concerned about this bringing on early menopause.
“I was only 31 at the time and I didn’t want to be worrying about hot flushes.
“Mr Afifi told me about a procedure where healthy tissue is taken from your ovaries and grafted on to the side of your pelvis.
“He said if it worked, my body would create the same hormones as before and it would prevent the menopause.”
Emeline decided to go ahead with the NHSfunded procedure, which was carried out at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s hospital in November last year. Her ovaries were removed and, after being sent to a laboratory, some of the healthy ovarian tissue was grafted on to the right side of her pelvis.
The operation has hit the headlines as it is now thought that young women could choose to have their ovarian tissue frozen
and transplanted back years later, reversing the menopause and helping to preserve their fertility.The procedure tricks the body into releasing hormones which delay the menopause.
“I was a little nervous at first,” Emeline recalls. “But I’m no stranger to surgery and I had faith in Mr Afifi. I felt I had nothing to lose.
“The graft was not the only thing they did that day. Some of my organs were fused together due to the endometriosis and that had to be fixed too, so I was on
the operating table for six hours.” Just 24 hours later, Emeline was allowed home.
“I had no side effects. I was completely fine. For about three days I was taking it slow, but I felt well and returned to work after a month. I probably could have gone sooner but I didn’t want to take any risks.”
As her ovaries had been removed, she had started to suffer all the symptoms of an early menopause and these continued after her operation as the graft needs around three months to take effect.
“I was suffering everything you would expect,” she recalls. Hot flushes, “
“I’m no stranger to surgery. I felt I had nothing to lose”
“I can’t have more children but I knew that would be the deal”
migraines, fatigue. It was a hard time. I had a two-year-old to look after and yet my body felt like someone in their fifties.
“The hot flushes were the worst. I’m always cold and yet in the middle of winter I just felt boiling hot.
“But after about three months, the symptoms vanished. I was perfectly fine, as if nothing ever happened. It was a huge relief. I didn’t want to go through the menopause in my thirties.
“Even more surprising than that, I started bleeding again. I now have periods as normal every month, in the same way as any other healthy woman. It’s not as painful as when I had the endometriosis.
“I can’t have any more children but I knew that would be the deal. It’s the best operation I’ve ever had.”
Mr Afifi said that many women who battle endometriosis have to remove their ovaries and uterus, leaving them infertile and battling early menopause.
“This operation is unique,” he says. “It is an incredible way of improving the quality of life for a large number of women for a long period of their lives. Of course, some people will be against it. Some women may not want to delay the menopause but the majority welcome such intervention.The point is, it’s up to each woman. There is a choice and it’s a choice that didn’t exist until now.
“There are women like Emeline having this procedure for clinical reasons as they lose their ovarian function at a young age.Then there is another group who have no problems with their ovaries and would expect the menopause to happen naturally around the age of 50.They can choose to have some ovarian tissue taken out and this has no impact on their fertility or on the age at which they’d go through the menopause. If they then choose at a later date, this tissue can be used to extend their hormonal status by a significant duration.
“By delaying the menopause in any of these women, you are reducing the risk of long-term complications caused by the menopause.This might be things like cardiovascular disease, mental health or osteoporosis.”
Emeline expects that she will now go through the menopause at the time most women do.
“It’s hard to know what will happen as this is such a new procedure,” she says. “But my understanding is it will be pretty normal and I’ll experience the menopause later in life like any other healthy woman would do. I’m not expecting my menopause until I’m about 50.
“I can genuinely say Mr Afifi saved my life.The pain I’d experienced was horrendous and I was tired of fighting it.
“I’m now 32 and thanks to this surgery I have a normal life as a healthy mum.”