Combined treatment of endometriosis: radical yet gentle

Abstract

Endometriosis is the second most common benign female genital disease after uterine myoma. This review discusses the management of individual patients. This should take into account the severity of the disease and whether the patient desires to have children. Particular emphasis is laid on the anatomical intersections which, when injured, can lead to persistent damage of the anterior, middle or posterior compartment and are not infrequently the cause of urological and urogynaecological follow-up measures. Typical symptoms of endometriosis include chronic pelvic pain, subfertility, dysmenorrhoea, deep dyspareunia, cyclical bowel or bladder symptoms (e. g. dyschezia, bloating, constipation, rectal bleeding, diarrhoea and haematuria), abnormal menstrual bleeding, chronic fatigue and low back pain. Approx. 50 % of all female teenagers and up to 32 % of all women of reproductive age who have been operated for chronic pelvic pain or dysmenorrhoea suffer from endometriosis. The time interval between the first unspecific symptoms and the medical diagnosis of endometriosis is about 7 years. This is caused not only by the non-specific nature of the symptoms but also by the frequent lack of awareness on the part of the cooperating disciplines with which the patients have first contact. As the pathogenesis of endometriosis is not clearly understood, causal treatment is still impossible. Treatment options include expectant management, analgesia, hormonal medical therapy, surgical intervention and the combination of medical treatment before and/or after surgery. The treatment should be as radical as necessary and as minimal as possible. The recurrence rate among treated patients lies between 5 % and > 60 % and is very much dependent on integrated management and surgical skills. Consequently, to optimise the individual patient's treatment, a high degree of interdisciplinary cooperation in diagnosis and treatment is crucial and should be reserved to appropriate centres - especially in the case of deep infiltrating endometriosis.