GS04: General Session IV - Endometriosis Across the Lifespan: Awareness, Access, Autonomy & Outcomes

Monday, November 16, 2026
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Room: BALLRM-ABC

Chair: Nash S. Moawad

Faculty: Philippa Bridge Cook, Jorge F. Carrillo, Shannon Cohn, Jon I. Einarsson, Ted T. Lee, Michelle Louie, Asha B. McClurg, Ricardo M.A. Pereira, Sukhbir S. Singh, Holly Harris, Leigh A. Humphries, Juan Diego Villegas-Echeverri, Lori B. Waxenberg

Moderators: Suzie As-Sanie, Megan Wasson

Description: For the first time in the history of the AAGL Global Congress, patients and surgeons will come together on the Main Stage to share experiences, challenges, innovations, and solutions in the care of endometriosis and complex pelvic pain disorders. This groundbreaking patient-centered session is designed to foster meaningful dialogue between patients, surgeons, multidisciplinary clinicians, and advocates while maintaining the scientific rigor and educational excellence that defines the AAGL. Through expert presentations, multidisciplinary discussion panels, live audience Q&A sessions, and powerful patient story videos, participants will explore barriers to diagnosis and treatment, advances in multidisciplinary care, and opportunities to improve awareness, access, outcomes, and autonomy for women worldwide. By bringing the patient voice directly into the Congress, this session aims to strengthen collaboration, empathy, and shared understanding between those delivering care and those living with these conditions.

Learning Objectives: At the end of this course, the participant will be able to: 1) Describe the lived experience of patients with endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain through direct dialogue with patients, surgeons, and multidisciplinary experts; 2) Examine emerging strategies to improve diagnosis, access to care, surgical outcomes, and long-term quality of life for women with pelvic pain disorders; and 3) Foster meaningful collaboration between patients, clinicians, advocates, and healthcare systems to shape the future of endometriosis care together.

Course Outline

ACT I: UNDERSTANDING THE DISEASE

9:30 AM Patient Video: Why This Session Exists

9:32 AM Endometriosis Is More Than Lesions: A Systemic Disease
N. Moawad

9:35 AM Seeing the Disease - A Patient-Oriented Anatomical Atlas: What's Really Happening Inside the Pelvis
R. Pereira

9:45 AM What Patients Actually Experience - Real-World Data, Symptoms & Quality of Life – The LIDEA Registry
S. Singh

10:00 AM Patient Video: The Invisible Disease

10:02 AM Laparoscopic Excision of Endometriosis – Spectrum of Procedures, Options and Outcomes (Pain and Fertility Outcomes, Complications, Recurrence, Reoperation)
J. Einarsson

10:17 AM Comfort Break (10 minutes)

ACT II – DECISION MAKING ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

10:27 AM Lifespan Based Care - From Adolescence to Menopause
M. Louie, A. McClurg

10:39 AM Beyond Surgery: Lifestyle & Adjuncts: What the Evidence Actually Says - And What Doesn't Work
L. Humphries

10:51 AM Nutrition & Endometriosis - Eating for Endometriosis: Evidence-Based Dietary Modifications, Anti-Inflammatory Approaches & Fad Diets Debunked
H. Harris

11:03 AM Shared Decision-Making Panel: Aligning Treatment with Patient Goals: Pain, Fertility, Function & Quality of Life
S. Cohn, P. Bridge-Cook, H. Harris
Moderator: M. Wasson

11:23 AM Comfort Break (5 minutes)

ACT III: LIVING WITH THE DISEASE
11:28 AM Patient Video: When Treatment Isn’t Enough

11:30 AM When the Calendar Predicts Pain: Breaking the Cycle of Anticipation, Anxiety, and Endometriosis
L. Waxenberg

11:42 AM Why Surgery Isn’t Enough? Persistent Pain After Treatment
J. Villegas-Echeverri, J. Carrillo
Moderator: S. As-Sanie

ACT IV: INTERACTIVE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
11:57 AM Patient Video: What I Want You to Know

11:59 AM Endometriosis Care Quality Collaborative
T. Lee

12:11 PM Questions and Answers
Moderator: M. Wasson

12:31 PM Closing: Key Takeaways and Next Steps
N. Moawad

12:35 PM Adjourn