[The value of laparoscopy in diagnosis and therapy in patients with chronic pelvic pain]

Abstract

The anamnesis, the preoperative diagnostics, the laparoscopic findings, and the therapeutic management are reported of 303 patients who underwent laparoscopy because of chronic pelvic pain during the years of 1989 and 1993. The most common laparoscopic diagnosis were adhesions of the bowel and omentum (34.7%), adhesions of the genital organs (24.1%) and endometriosis (19.8%). In 31.4% there were normal pelvic findings. In patients with a history of surgical or other gynecological procedures we found significantly more adhesions as compared to nontreated controls; the adhesions were predominantly confined to the bowel and rather than the gynecologic pelvis. PID-Patients had significantly more genital adhesions. The high frequency of surgical laparoscopies and therapeutic recommendations following a diagnostic laparoscopy emphasize the importance of a laparoscopic investigation in patients with chronic pelvic pain.