Coimbatore : In the wake of increasing cases of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), city-based Women’s Centre by Motherhood Hospital on Thursday launched a dedicated multidisciplinary clinic for such cases.

One in every 10 women was affected by PCOS, but only about 50 per cent of them were diagnosed, hospital Clinical Director Mirudubasini Govindarajan told reporters here. .

“It is important to know that PCOS is not a disease of the ovaries. It is due to an imbalance in the hormonal milieu of the body, and the changes in the ovary are secondary to that. Contrary to common practice, surgery is not a cure for it,” she said.

PCOS often led to untoward complications, and could wreak havoc in the lives of women of all ages, from puberty to menopause and beyond, she said.

Its debilitating symptoms included irregular menstrual cycles, excess weight gain or resistant weight loss, hypertension, depression, acne, hirsutism (excessive hair growth on parts of the body where hair does not normally occur in women) and hair loss, she said.

Many women with PCOS were also at a high risk of being diagnosed with diabetes, heart problems and endometrial cancer, Dr Mirudubasini said..

There was a big gap between awareness of the PCOS symptoms and its management, she said, and unfortunately only the symptoms were taken care of and the root cause

Many a time surgery was done usually ending up more complications. All this could be avoided by understanding PCOS and making early lifestyle modifications early.

The team at the clinic would formulate a personalised plan for the patient based on her age and the focus would be on lifestyle management, said consultant Dr Suganya Venkat.