Extragenital endometriosis. A review

Abstract

Extragenital endometriosis is common and may be found in any tissue. The most pronounced symptoms are pain and local bleeding that usually (at least initially) are cyclical and more pronounced at the time of menstruation. The lesions often infiltrate neighbouring organs, and cause considerable fibrosis together with increasing symptoms. The patients have often had pain for many years, have been investigated at different clinics, and been given conflicting diagnoses, often of mental instability, before the correct diagnosis is finally made. The disease is difficult to diagnose clinically, and must be verified histologically. Often the endometriosis responds to treatment with hormones to inactivate the ovaries, but, sometimes the lesions are resistant, or respond too slowly, to drugs, and local excision is required. A gynaecologist should be called if the diagnosis is made at laparotomy or laparoscopy, to establish the extension of the endometriotic lesion and should be consulted about complementary investigations and hormonal treatment.