Shamita Shetty Questions If Endometriosis Can Return Post-Surgery

DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.

“Even after 6-8 weeks, it took me a while to get my strength back. To get my guts back to go and do a leg workout. That’s why I tell you, it took me two years to lose five kilos,” the Mohabbatein actor added.

This condition — in which endometrium-like tissue that lines the uterus grows outside the uterus on the ovaries, pelvic lining, rectum, urinary bladder — is generally characterised by excessive pain during periods. Pain during or after sex, pain during bowel movement or painful urination during periods, excessive bleeding, extreme fatigue and nausea are some of the other symptoms to note.  A 2022 report published in the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology encapsulated the experience of women dealing with endometriosis, which affects 247 million women globally and 42 million women in India.

Can endometriosis be back after surgery?

Dr Abhishek Mangeshikar, Consultant Gynaecology & Endometriosis Expert, Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai explains that contrary to popular post-surgery belief, endometriosis can indeed make a comeback. But most of the time, that is because it never actually left. What patients experience as “recurrence” is usually a disease that was never fully removed in the first place.

“It helps to separate three things that get lumped together. There’s persistent disease — endometriosis left behind at the first surgery, which is by far the commonest reason symptoms return. There’s true recurrence — genuinely new disease after complete removal, which is far less common. And there’s pain without new disease — where scans are clear but a nervous system sensitised over years keeps generating pain,” he tells indianexpress.com.

According to him, the single biggest factor deciding whether it comes back is the quality of your first operation. “Your first surgery is your best surgery — choose the surgeon, not the hospital brochure,” he suggests.

Debunking common myths

Dr Mangeshikar says that a hysterectomy is not a cure for endometriosis — the disease grows outside the uterus, on bowel, ureter and pelvic wall, so removing the womb leaves the disease exactly where it is. “And as long as there are ovaries making oestrogen, there’s a background risk. Which is why, for women not trying to conceive, hormonal suppression after surgery is one of the simplest ways to lower recurrence,” he clarifies.

What does post-care look like?

The expert shares some tips to keep in mind:

Diet: No diet cures endometriosis, and anyone selling an “endo diet” as a cure is selling to desperate people.

That said, Dr Mangeshikar reiterates that an anti-inflammatory pattern genuinely helps symptoms — plenty of vegetables, fruit and whole grains, omega-3 sources like fish and nuts, less ultra-processed food. “Steer clear of severe fad diets that promise to make the disease vanish. If you’ve had bowel surgery, follow the reintroduction plan your surgeon gives you,” he points out.

Fitness: Return to movement gradually — low-impact first, then build. The most underused treatment in endometriosis isn’t a drug, but pelvic floor physiotherapy. The goal is consistency, not intensity.

Lifestyle: Sleep, stress and mental health move the needle more than patients expect. Stopping smoking and moderating alcohol help.

Dr Mangeshikar also shares that the psychological toll is enormous. “Most of these women were disbelieved for years before anyone took them seriously, so mental health support isn’t a soft add-on, it’s part of the treatment. The best outcomes come from a team — surgeon, physiotherapist, pain specialist, psychologist — not one hero surgeon riding in to fix everything,” he concludes.

DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.