Endometriosis: presentation to general surgeons

Abstract

We present nine cases of endometriosis presenting to general surgeons over a period of 4.5 years at Gwynedd Hospital, Bangor. A total of 83 cases of endometriosis was found on analysis of pathology records. Of these, 73 presented to gynaecologists, one to a dermatologist and nine to general surgeons. The presentation to general surgeons includes swelling related to Pfannanstiel scar (two), swelling in inguinal canal (two), umbilical nodule (one), rectal bleeding (one), recurrent abdominal pain (one), mimicking ovarian tumour (one) and presenting as pelvic peritonitis (one). Six were elective admissions and three were admitted as an emergency. All were premenopausal (range 19-49 years) women. None had any previous history of endometriosis or subfertility. Two patients with cyclical symptoms were correctly diagnosed clinically, and the others were postoperative diagnosis. Six patients required gynaecological referral and four of these required further medical treatment. None of them has required further surgical intervention in follow-up (range 4 weeks to 3 years). Endometriosis usually presents to general surgeons with deposits at extragonadal sites. Some patients may present as an emergency with abdominal pain. Endometriosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of women presenting with swellings related to umbilicus, surgical scars, inguinal canal and pelvis, especially if symptoms are cyclical. Usually, surgical excision is adequate. Selected cases require gynaecological referral and further medical therapy.