TITLE:
Laparoscopic diagnosis of endometriosis—Clinical study
AUTHORS:
Henri Lahdemaki, Markku Santala, Markku Ryynanen
KEYWORDS:
Endometriosis; Diagnostic Laparoscopy; Abdominal Pain; Pelvic Pain
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.3 No.9,
November
27,
2013
ABSTRACT:
Objective: To examine the laparoscopic findings in patients with suspicion of endometriosis. Study Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Oulu, Finland. Sample: First-time laparoscopy, without any known surgical diagnosis, was made in 53 consecutive patients between January 2006 and November 2011. Main Outcome Measures: The laparoscopic findings, staging of endometriosis, the percentages of different symptoms linked with endometriosis. Results: Laparoscopy revealed endometriosis in 40% of cases. Most frequent symptoms were dysmenorrhea (86%) and dyspareunia (81%) followed with vibration pain (71%), urinary symptoms (29%) and lowered fertility (24%). Only 5% of patients with endometriosis complained of bowel symptoms, which were significantly more common in patients without endometriosis (28%) (p = 0.034). The median interval between the onset of symptoms and laparoscopic diagnosis was 1.9 years (SD 3.2, range 0.6 - 11). Conclusions: The interval between the onset of symptoms and laparoscopic diagnosis is short reflecting the prompt availability of the necessary facilities in specialist health care. Finally laparoscopy seems to be safe in cases of endometriosis suspicion.