A prospective, randomized study comparing laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy versus fenestration and coagulation in patients with endometriomas

Objective: To determine the difference between two laparoscopic methods for the management of endometriomas with regard to recurrence of signs and symptoms and pregnancy rate. Design: Prospective, randomized clinical trial. Setting: Infertility and gynecologic endoscopy units of two medical university hospitals. Patient(s): One hundred patients with endometriomas who had either infertility or pelvic pain. Intervention(s): Patients were randomly divided into two groups; one group underwent cystectomy (group 1), and fenestration and coagulation were performed for the other (group 2). Main Outcome Measure(s): A comparison of recurrence of signs and symptoms of endometriomas and pregnancy rates in two groups. Result(s): Fifty-two patients were studied in group 1 and 48 in group 2. The recurrence of symptoms, such as pelvic pain and dysmenorrhea, was 15.8% in group 1 and 56.7% in group 2 after 2 years. The rate of reoperation was 5.8% in group 1 and 22.9% in group 2 and these differences were statistically significant. The cumulative pregnancy rate was significantly higher in group 1 (59.4%) than in group 2 (23.3%) at 1-year follow-up. Conclusion(s): Laparoscopic cystectomy of endometriomas is a better choice than fenestration and coagulation because the former technique leads to a lower recurrence of signs and symptoms and a lower rate of reoperation and a higher cumulative pregnancy rate than the latter. (C) 2004 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.