Recommended Doctor
Karen Leigh BLANCHARD MD
Obstetrics & Gynecology - California Santa Monica

I suffered from several pain from endometriosis for 20 years. Every time I complained of my pain to a gynecologist (& I complained to quite a few in those 20 years), I was offered some useless advice about vitamin supplements or an exercise regime. At best, I was placed on birth control pills. All of it amounted to putting a bandaid on a bullet wound, until someone suggested Karen to me. She looked at the images of my laparoscopy which had been performed by another doctor, gave me a pelvic exam, and didn't waste my time with useless advice or pharmaceutical options. "You poor thing," I'll never forget her words, "You must be in TERRIBLE pain." She then told me exactly what I had been thinking, insisting was the case, for years: "You'll never conceive a child in that uterus. Why keep an organ that doen't work & causes you so much pain?" And we scheduled a hysterectomy without further delay. So as to spare me from years of hormone replacement therapy (I was 34 at the time) she saved one ovary for me, and so as to not alter my sex life, and also to provide some support for the surrounding organs, she left my cervix intact. I had the surgery on a Friday morning, and was discharged from the hospital by noon the following day. I made a speedy recovery (Karen herself, thought I was in for my 6-week follow-up when I went to see her for my 3-week follow-up) and have never suffered that pain again. That hysterectomy, some 11 years ago, changed my life forever. I added up the days I had been incapacitated by pain during my periods, over those 20 years, and was shocked to realize I had lost nearly a year and a half of of my life, laid up in bed, suffering needlessly, until I found Karen. Karen Blanchard is a no-nonsense medical professional who got in there & got the job I so sorely needed DONE, paying close attention to my future needs, and long-term health. She has a great bedside manner, and a wonderful sense of humor. I would recommend her to anyone dealing with endometriosis, fertility issues, or just seeking a top-notch OB-GYN. Thanks Karen!