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STUDY QUESTIONHow should surgery for endometriosis be performed?SUMMARY ANSWERThis document provides recommendations covering technical aspects of different methods of surgery for deep endometriosis in women of reproductive age.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYEndometriosis is highly prevalent and often associated with severe symptoms. Yet compared to equally prevalent conditions, it is poorly understood and a challenge to manage. Previously published guidelines have provided recommendations for (surgical) treatment of deep endometriosis, based on the best available evidence, but without technical information and details on how to best perform such treatment in order to be effective and safe.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONA working group of the European Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (ESGE), ESHRE and the World Endometriosis Society (WES) collaborated on writing recommendations on the practical aspects of surgery for treatment of deep endometriosis.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSThis document focused on surgery for deep endometriosis and is complementary to a previous document in this series focusing on endometrioma surgery.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEThe document presents general recommendations for surgery for deep endometriosis, starting from preoperative assessments and first steps of surgery. Different approaches for surgical treatment are discussed and are respective of location and extent of disease; uterosacral ligaments and rectovaginal septum with or without involvement of the rectum, urinary tract or extrapelvic endometriosis. In addition, recommendations are provided on the treatment of frozen pelvis and on hysterectomy as a treatment for deep endometriosis.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONOwing to the limited evidence available, recommendations are mostly based on clinical expertise. Where available, references of relevant studies were added.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSThese recommendations complement previous guidelines on management of endometriosis and the recommendations for surgical treatment of ovarian endometrioma.STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)The meetings of the working group were funded by ESGE, ESHRE and WES. Dr Roman reports personal fees from ETHICON, PLASMASURGICAL, OLYMPUS and NORDIC PHARMA, outside the submitted work; Dr Becker reports grants from Bayer AG, Volition Rx, MDNA Life Sciences and Roche Diagnostics Inc. and other relationships or activities from AbbVie Inc., and Myriad Inc, during the conduct of the study; Dr Tomassetti reports non-financial support from ESHRE, during the conduct of the study; and non-financial support and other were from Lumenis, Gedeon-Richter, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Merck SA, outside the submitted work. The other authors had nothing to disclose.TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERna

Abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) is defined as endometrial tissue superficial to the peritoneum. AWE often is misdiagnosed and referred to surgeons for treatment. We performed a systematic review of published cohorts to quantify demographics, symptoms, and outcomes of patients having AWE. An English language PubMed search from January 1951 to August of 2006 was conducted using several search terms for endometrioma. Twenty-nine articles describing 455 patients were identified and met inclusion criteria. The pooled mean age was 31.4 years. Ninety-six percent presented with a mass, 87% presented with pain, and 57% presented with cyclic symptoms. AWE was associated with a caesarian scar or hysterectomy in 57% and 11% of cases, respectively. The interval from index surgery to presentation was 3.6 years. Recurrence after resection was 4.3%. The most common presentation of AWE is the development of a painful mass after uterine surgery. Surgical treatment appears to result in a cure more than 95% of the time.

Pulmonary endometriosis (PEM) is rare, and drug therapy remains the primary treatment. However, patients with PEM frequently experience recurrent hemoptysis that is refractory to pharmacological intervention. We herein describe a patient with PEM who developed recurrent hemoptysis and was successfully treated with photodynamic therapy (PDT) after drug withdrawal. The patient was admitted to our hospital because of recurrent hemoptysis despite repeated drug treatments for more than 1 year. Given that PDT targets specific tissues and destroys vascular endothelial cells through the cytotoxic effect produced by the photodynamic reaction of the photosensitizer, we considered that it may effectively control hemoptysis secondary to vascular morphological changes in PEM. Therefore, we performed PDT in this case, and the patient’s recurrent hemoptysis regressed. Approximately 2 years following PDT, the patient had recovered well and reported no discomfort. We recommend consideration of PDT as a treatment option for patients with PEM who develop recurrent hemoptysis after drug withdrawal. Notably, the patient’s lung lesions should be superficial and limited, and no contraindications should be present.

Endometriosis of the abdominal wall (AWE) is poorly understood because of its rarity and heterogeneous nature. The aim of this study was to investigate and present the clinical and surgical characteristics of AWE and to propose its classification. This was a multicentric retrospective study. For this analysis, the data from three endometriosis centers were collected. In total 80 patients were included in this study. The Academic Hospital Cologne Weyertal is a certified, level III endometriosis center in Germany with 750-1,000 endometriosis surgeries being performed annually; Barzilai University Medical Center is a certified endometriosis center in Ashkelon, Israel; and Baku Health Center is an endometriosis Center in Baku, Azerbaijan. The size of nodule (histological specimen) was significant larger in women with than those without adenomyosis (3.34±1.4 vs. 2.55±1.33 cm, p=0.016). The incidence of subfascial involvement was also found to be significantly higher in these women (42% vs. 19%, p=0.03). No significant difference was found in patients with and without obesity. In 78% of cases, the proliferation level (Ki67 marker) was less than 30%. AWE has a high prevalence of symptoms such as abdominal wall pain and swelling, as well as bleeding. The strengths of the current study are the investigation of the proliferation marker Ki67 in AWE, the impact of adenomyosis, as well as the suggested classification.

Background Thoracic endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue in or around lungs and on the diaphragm and is frequently associated with pelvic endometriosis. Case presentation In this case report, a 22-year-old Caucasian patient reported right hypochondrium pain without other associated symptoms and was diagnosed with cholelithiasis. She underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and an abdominal cavity examination revealed a diaphragmatic endometriotic nodule and endometriosis foci in the right diaphragm, pelvic ligaments, and left adnexal area. During the procedure, excision of the diaphragmatic endometriotic nodule and cauterization of the larger endometriosis foci in the diaphragm were also performed. After surgery, hormone therapy was administered as complementary treatment, which included a depot gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for 5 months, followed by drospirenone 4 mg/day for 3 months. At the follow-up visit, the patient reported an improvement in right hypochondrium pain after surgery and complete remission after clinical treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed before and after 6 months following the initiation of hormone therapy revealed a regression of diaphragmatic and pelvic endometriosis foci. Conclusion In our case, the combination of surgical treatment and hormone therapy was effective for managing pelvic and diaphragmatic endometriosis.

Abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) is a rare type of endometriosis, with an incidence ranging from 0.1% to 0.4%. It requires a high index of suspicion to avoid delays in diagnosis and treatment. This case is rather special because AWE occurred without a history of abdominal surgery or pelvic endometriosis. Herein, we report the case of a 48-year-old para-3 woman with localised cyclical abdominal pain associated with abdominal distension. On assessment during menstruation, there were localised tenderness at the right suprapubic area and a non-tender suprapubic mass corresponding to a 14-week-sized gravid uterus. An ultrasound revealed the presence of a heterogeneous hypoechoic lesion at the subcutaneous layer of the right suprapubic region sized 1.8×3.2×4.4 cm with poor demarcation. There were also multiple uterine fibroids varying in size and location. She underwent exploratory laparotomy, total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and abdominal wall mass resection. Intraoperatively, the right abdominal wall mass measuring 6×5 cm and involving the subcutaneous layer was found to adhere to the rectus sheath with some chocolate-stained areas without connection to the peritoneal cavity. Additionally, multiple uterine fibroids were noted. There was no pelvic endometriosis, and the other pelvic organs were normal. The histopathological diagnosis of the abdominal wall mass was endometriosis. AWE should be one of the differential diagnoses even in the absence of previous surgery when encountering a patient with an abdominal wall mass especially when it is related to the menstrual cycle.

Background Extrapelvic endometriosis is defined as the presence of ectopic endometrial tissue in structures outside the pelvis. Although extra-pelvic endometriosis is generally considered benign conditions, malignant potential within endometriotic foci occurs even after definitive surgery. Malignant transformation of hepatic endometriosis is extremely rare. Preoperative diagnosis of this cancer is difficult, and no guidelines on the optimal management currently exist. Here, we present a case report of malignant transformation of hepatic endometriosis and a brief literature review to highlight the current knowledge of the prevalence, clinical features, diagnosis, and management of this condition. Case presentation A 50-year-old woman with a 2-year duration of progressive right upper quadrant abdominal pain was admitted to the hospital. She underwent hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for benign conditions 4 years prior. Tumor markers demonstrated elevated carbohydrate antigen (CA)-199 112U/mL (normal range: 0–35U/mL) only. Radiological imaging suggested the presence of a 10.7 × 7.7-cm mass in the right lobe of the liver extending to the diaphragm. The intraoperative frozen sections suggested malignant tumor. Right hepatectomy with infiltrating diaphragm resection was performed. The final pathology with immunohistochemistry staining confirmed endometrioid adenocarcinoma in the liver originating from preexisting hepatic endometriosis. After the multidisciplinary team meeting, the consensus was surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. To our knowledge, this is the first case of Chinese woman of a malignant liver tumor originating from endometriosis ever reported by reviewing the current English medical literature. Conclusion Though rare, extrapelvic endometriosis-associated cancers should be considered as differentiated diagnosis even after hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. This case highlights the importance of collaborative efforts across multiple disciplines for accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of malignant transformation of hepatic endometriosis.

OBJECTIVEThe aim of the study was to evaluate extrapelvic sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in clinical early-stage endometrial cancer patients with unmapped pelvic side(s) during fluorescent imaging-based sentinel mapping. MATERIALS AND METHODSEligible patients underwent sentinel mapping using cervical injection of indocyanine green and near-infrared florescent imaging compatible endoscopic systems. Pelvic SLNs were identified and resected. If bilateral mapping was not achieved, upper lymph nodes areas including presacral, upper common iliac, and para-aortic caval regions were explored for any SLN. Systematic lymphadenectomy was performed after applying SLN algorithm steps. RESULTSIn 24 of 101 patients, bilateral pelvic mapping was not achieved. Bilateral unmapping was seen in 4 of 24 and unilateral pelvic side mapping in 20 of 24 patients. There was no extrapelvic SLN among 4 cases with bilateral pelvic unmapping, whereas 8 (40%) of 20 patients with unilateral pelvic mapping had extrapelvic SLNs. Five of extrapelvic SLNs were in presacral, 2 in upper common iliac, and 1 in paracaval regions. CONCLUSIONSObserving for extrapelvic SLNs in cases with unmapped pelvic side(s) could increase detection rate of SLN mapping in clinical early-stage endometrial cancer.

Abdominal wall endometriosis is atypical localization of the extra-pelvic endometriosis with non-specific symptoms and is difficult for diagnosis. Cesarean scar endometriosis (CSE) is the most common type of abdominal wall endometriosis, which usually develops after obstetric operations. We report a case of a 33-year-old woman who had two previous cesarean sections presented with a mass in the subcutaneous tissue of the abdominal wall, approximately 4 cm superior to the Pfannenstiel incision, 5 years after her second lower segment caesarean section. The classic clinical presentation, imaging findings on ultrasonography and computed tomography are analyzed. Treatment with local surgical excision of the mass is discussed. The diagnosis was confirmed with histopathological analysis of the surgical sample. When it comes to the limited painful lesion in the subcutaneous tissue at the cesarean scar, with a pain intensifying during menstruation, the physician should consider cesarean scar endometriosis in women of reproductive age with a history of cesarean section.