Laparoscopic appendectomy in patients with endometriosis

Abstract

Study objective: To report the frequency and spectrum of histologically proved diseases of the appendix in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for chronic pelvic pain in conjunction with endometriosis in a tertiary referral center.

Design: Patient database with retrospective chart review (Canadian Task Force classification II-3).

Setting: University ambulatory endoscopic surgery center-tertiary referral center.

Patients: Two hundred thirty-one women.

Interventions: Appendectomy during laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis.

Measurements and main results: We reviewed the medical records of 231 patients who underwent appendectomy during laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis performed from January 1994 through July 2004. Of the 231 patients with pelvic endometriosis, concomitant appendiceal pathology was present in 115.

Conclusion: The appendix may be involved and may contribute to pelvic pain in patients with endometriosis.