- 310-388-1955
- Accepting New Patients
- Virtual Consultations Available
Travel to Los Angeles, Treated Once, Cared for Long After
Patients travel to the Comprehensive Endometriosis Center in Los Angeles because the team performs cutting-edge excision and has sub-specialty depth for complex cases. Serving patients in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Scottsdale and the rest of the United States.By Raanan Meyer, MD — Director, Comprehensive Endometriosis Center · Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Cedars-Sinai
Patients choose to travel to the Comprehensive Endometriosis Center because they want a team that performs excision exclusively, has sub-specialty depth for complex cases, and treats out-of-state surgery as a deliberate program rather than an exception.
Talk to a Patient Coordinator — (310) 388-1955 or request a virtual consultation to get started.
For many patients, the closest gynecologist may not always be the right surgeon for endometriosis. True endometriosis expert surgeons who have completed fellowship training in advanced gynecologic surgery and who perform excision (not ablation) as their primary technique — are concentrated in a handful of cities. If you don’t live near one, traveling to one is often the fastest path to lasting relief.
We see patients who have spent years cycling through general OBGYNs, pain medications, and incomplete surgeries. The pattern is familiar: a diagnosis comes too late, the first surgery treats only what’s visible on the surface, the disease returns within months, and the trail goes cold. Specialist excision changes that trajectory — and for most patients, getting on a plane is the difference between another year of pain and a real recovery.
Treating out-of-state patients is a process we’ve built deliberately — three stages designed so you never fly in for a “maybe” appointment and never face a surgical decision alone. Each stage answers a specific question: Is surgery the right next step? When and how do you travel? And what happens once you’re home?
You meet your surgeon by secure video. We review your medical history, symptoms, imaging and prior surgical reports. By the end of the call, you and your surgeon agree on whether surgery is indicated and what the procedure would look like.
Once you've decided to move forward, our patient coordinator builds a single coordinated trip: pre-operative consultation, surgery day, recovery, and post-operative check. You travel once.
Your post-op care continues by video and secure messaging once you're home, typically for the first 2–3 weeks post-op. Operative reports, surgical photos, and pathology findings are sent to you and to your local OBGYN or primary care provider so everyone has what they need.
Most patients describe the structure as a relief: every step is mapped out before they book a flight. Our diagnosis journey page walks through what to expect in more depth, and our patient coordinator answers travel questions before you commit to anything.
Most out-of-state patients plan for a 3–7-day trip, with arrival the day before the pre-operative consultation and departure once your surgeon has cleared you to fly. The plan is built so you make the trip once — pre-op, surgery, recovery, and final clearance happen in sequence without back-and-forth flights.
Your patient coordinator builds you a day-by-day itinerary before you book travel. The structure is intentional: each day has a clear medical purpose, so you know exactly what’s happening and when. Here’s the typical sequence:
| Day | What happens |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Arrival in Los Angeles. Light evening; no medical appointments. Rest and acclimate. |
| Day 2 | Pre-operative consultation with your surgeon. Final imaging review, anesthesia consult, pre-op labs. |
| Day 3 | Surgery day. Excision performed laparoscopically or robotically (or by open approach for complex bowel cases per your surgical plan). Recovery begins same day. |
| Day 4–5 | Recovery and observation. Daily check-ins with your care team. |
| Day 6 | In-person post-operative consultation. Surgeon confirms flight clearance and gives written discharge plan. |
| Day 7 | Travel home (subject to surgeon clearance). |
Our preoperative instructions walk through exactly what to pack and how to prepare in the weeks before your trip.
Endometriosis is rarely a single-surgeon disease, especially when the bowel, ureters, or diaphragm are involved. Our team is built so the right sub-specialist is already in the room — you don’t have to coordinate referrals between practices or worry about who will manage what during your case.
Available for virtual consults
Available for virtual consults
Available for virtual consults
Double Board-Certified General & Colorectal Surgeon; Leader in Robotic Surgery
Your relationship with our team doesn’t end at the airport. After you fly home, you remain under our post-operative care for the recovery window your surgeon defines — typically the first 2–3 weeks post-op, with structured video check-ins and secure messaging access to our team.
The hand-off to your local providers is a deliberate part of the process. Your full operative report, surgical photographs, pathology findings, and post-op care plan are sent to you and to your local OBGYN or primary care provider, so you and your care team have what you need if you have a question between video visits or if a non-emergency issue comes up.
This is the single most important question to ask any endometriosis surgeon. Excision surgically removes the diseased tissue at its root — including deep-infiltrating disease that grows below the surface. Ablation burns the surface of visible lesions but leaves disease underneath intact, which is why ablation patients so often see their symptoms return within months.
Our team performs excision exclusively. We focus on removing disease at its root rather than treating only the surface — an approach that matters most in Stage III–IV disease and in patients with prior failed surgeries.
| Comparison | Excision (what we do) | Ablation (what we don’t do) |
|---|---|---|
| Technique | Surgically cuts out the endometriosis tissue at the root | Burns the surface of visible lesions |
| Depth of disease addressed | Reaches deep-infiltrating disease, including bowel and diaphragm | Limited to superficial lesions only |
| Performed by | Fellowship-trained excision specialists | Often performed by general OBGYNs without subspecialty training |
If your previous surgery used ablation — or if you’re not sure which technique was used — bring your operative report to your virtual consult. Reviewing prior operative records is a routine part of how we evaluate a case before recommending excision.
Most major PPO out-of-network insurance plans cover endometriosis excision surgery, though benefits and patient responsibility vary plan-by-plan. We review your specific benefits during your virtual consultation and walk you through what your plan typically covers, what you’d be responsible for, and how the claims process works. We also accept cash and self-pay patients.
