Daily Mirror - 27.08.2019

DM1ST

(^26) DAILY MIRROR TUESDAY 27.08.2019
HEALTH B
I had an
ovarian
graft to
reverse my
menopaus
HAPPY
FAMIL
Emelin
Luke w
BY LYNSEY HOPE
WHEN she was 31, Emeline Wilson
had both ovaries removed in an
attempt to cure her endometriosis,
a painful disorder which she’d battled
since her twenties.
The procedure would usually lead to
menopause along with all the symptoms

• hot flushes, fatigue and migraines.
  But a state-of-the-art operation, which
  hit the headlines this month for
  promising to help women delay
  menopause, cured her symptoms and,
  incredibly, restored her monthly cycle.
  Emeline, a marketing manager who
  lives in Tamworth, Staffs, is one of only a
  handful of women to have undergone 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 long, painful periods and intense
  cramping. On a few occasions I was
  admitted to A&E after fainting with pain.
  But 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.
  It affects around one in 10 women 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 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 when

I was around nine or 10 weeks pregnant.

“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

otherwise. But a couple of

months after giving birth, my

symptoms returned and were

worse than ever. I was in a lot

of pain, with cysts growing

on both ovaries.

“I knew at this point

that 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

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