Montreal, March 28, 2023 – The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is proud to launch Quebec’s first multidisciplinary referral centre for multisystem endometriosis. EndoCARES, or the Endometriosis Centre for the Advancement of REsearch and Surgery, aims to provide patients suffering from pain and infertility due to endometriosis with timely access to specialized diagnostic imaging, followed by multidisciplinary care based on individual needs.
Endometriosis is an inflammatory condition where endometrial-like tissue (similar to the inner lining of the uterus) grows outside of the uterus. Affecting about 1 in 10 women of reproductive age, it commonly causes infertility and debilitating pelvic pain, often severe enough to limit a woman’ s ability to carry out normal daily activities.
“While half of women with infertility and up to 70 per cent of those with chronic pelvic pain have endometriosis, studies show an average delay of seven years from the start of symptoms to diagnosis,” explains Dr. Togas Tulandi, chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the MUHC. “EndoCARES aims to significantly reduce this delay by uniting a team of gynecologic surgeons specialized in minimally invasive surgery – more specifically, in the removal of endometriosis lesions – along with other specialists, such as bowel surgeons, urologists, radiologists and fertility specialists, in a single patient-centered clinic.”
Top row, left to right: Dr. Dong Bach Nguyen; Marie-Josée Bourassa, nurse coordinator, Women’s Health Mission; Pierina Fusco, assistant nurse manager, OB-GYN clinics; Dr. Fady Williamson Mansour, and Dr. Andrew Zakhari.
Bottom row, left to right: Dr. Togas Tulandi; Karine Rousseau, operating room nurse; Dr. Jessica Papillon-Smith, and Dr. Srinivasan Krishnamurthy.
EndoCARES specialists come together regularly to discuss complex surgical cases and devise the best treatment strategies to offer patients. Meanwhile, a dedicated nursing staff provides continuity of care for the patients by facilitating the coordination of care between specialists and monitoring post-operative recovery following complex surgeries.
A centre of excellence
Drs. Dong Bach Nguyen and Andrew Zakhari, co-directors of the centre, both pursued additional training at renowned endometriosis hubs in Europe after completing minimally invasive surgery fellowships in Ottawa and Toronto respectively. As a result, patients treated at EndoCARES now benefit from innovative surgeries specific to endometriosis not previously offered in Quebec. “In Europe, several countries have established centres of excellence to provide specialized care to patients affected by endometriosis. Training in these centres allowed us to bring back not only new surgical techniques, but also the foundations to build an endometriosis referral centre for women with multi-organ endometriosis in Quebec,” explains Dr. Nguyen.
Co-directors, Dr. Dong Bach Nguyen and Dr. Andrew Zakhari
“The primary objective of this centre is to provide women with severe endometriosis affecting other organs like the bladder,bowel or diaphragm, with dedicated surgical and radiological expertise,” says Dr. Zakhari. Along with Drs. Srinivasan Krishnamurthy, Fady Mansour, Jessica Papillon-Smith and Togas Tulandi, this team of surgical gynecologists is committed to improving the care of Quebec women suffering from endometriosis.
Many questions remain unanswered
“Today, we still do not understand the exact cause of endometriosis, nor do we have a cure,” explains Dr. Tulandi, who is also an associate investigator at the Child Health and Human Development Program at the Research Institute of the MUHC.
Moving forward, EndoCARES aims to enhance basic, epidemiological and clinical research in endometriosis with the establishment of a patient registry that will function as a database for future research. Additionally, the program will facilitate international networking, collaborative research and the standardization of clinical practice through the exchange of ideas and experiences.
EndoCARES’ state-of-the-art clinical care and forthcoming research are made possible in part by generous donations made to the MUHC Foundation, which has pledged to raise $700,000 in support of personnel and equipment for the EndoCARES program.
“Endometriosis is very common and yet, so many women endure years of pain before receiving a diagnosis. This is completely unacceptable. The MUHC Foundation is proud to support the EndoCARES program, because it will change women’s health care for the better and reduce the pain and uncertainty so many women endure,” says Julie Quenneville, president and CEO of the MUHC Foundation.
Someone to reach out to
It took five long years before Anisa Gjoka was referred to Dr. Andrew Zakhari and diagnosed with stage 4 endometriosis at 25 years old. “On February 8, 2021, in the middle of a pandemic, I finally had my surgery,” recounts Anisa. “After a four-hour surgery, and with only four small incisions, they were able to carefully remove the endometriosis lesions, leaving all of my organs intact!”
Anisa Gjoka, patient of Dr. Andrew Zakhari
Today, at 28 years old, Anisa maintains a pain-free lifestyle, something that seemed unimaginable before entering under the expert care of Dr. Zakhari. “It gives me great peace of mind to know that EndoCARES exists – that there is finally someone for me to reach out to whenever I’m in need, and that the young women experiencing their first symptoms will be spared years of suffering and will be cared for by a multidisciplinary team of experts, all in one place.”
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About the McGill University Health Centre
The McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) is one of the world’s foremost academic health facilities. Building on the tradition of medical leadership of its founding hospitals, the MUHC provides exceptional multidisciplinary patient-centric care in French and in English. Affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of McGill University, the MUHC continues to shape the course of adult and pediatric medicine by attracting clinical and research expertise from around the world, assessing the latest in medical technology, and training the next generation of medical professionals. In collaboration with our network partners, we are building a better future for our patients and their families; for our employees, professionals, researchers and students; for our community and above all, for life. www.muhc.ca
Media contact:
Rebecca Burns
McGill University Health Centre [email protected]
514-929-1329
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
