Laparoscopic surgery helps relieve endometriosis pain

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Laparoscopic surgery helps relieve endometriosis pain
Source: Fertility and Sterility 2003; 79: 1086-90

Objective measures of pain appear to improve after laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis.

Ablative surgery, performed via laparoscopy, is an effective treatment for pelvic pain associated with endometriosis, researchers report.

Although a number of studies have reported pain relief following laparoscopic surgery for endometriomas, "all these studies lack an objective measurement of pain such as a visual analog score," observe Dr. Kevin Jones (Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK) and co-workers.

Accordingly, they studied 73 women with stage III-IV endometriosis and a total of 96 cysts, who were asked to complete pre- and postoperative visual analog scores for pelvic pain. Patient satisfaction was scored from 1 to 10, with 1 being "dissatisfied", and 10 being "very satisfied." Surgery comprised laparoscopic ablation of extraovarian endometriosis with a carbon dioxide laser, and fenestration and ablation of the endometrioma capsule.

Twelve months postoperatively, the patients showed significant reduction in pain scores for dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, and chronic nonmenstrual pain, the researchers report. No surgical complications occurred. Furthermore, 88 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with their treatment.

"In conclusion, laparoscopic ablative surgery for stage III and IV endometriosis and cyst fenestration, followed by capsule ablation, is an effective treatment for relieving pelvic pain," the researchers write.


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