The presence of sex hormone receptors in the vesicouterine fistula.

Although the traditional management of vesicouterine fistula is surgical, a recent review of world data showed high efficacy of hormonal manipulation by the induction of amenorrhea. The prerequisite for the action of sex hormones is the presence of target receptors in the given tissue. The current study examined the histology of the vesicouterine fistula in order to identify the possible cellular components containing sex hormone receptors. The presence of an epithelium similar to endometrium containing sex hormone receptors was demonstrated immunohistochemically and by hematoxylin-eosin staining, a finding in agreement with the definition of endometriosis. Our paper provides an explanation for the high efficacy of hormonal manipulation in the treatment of this relatively rare type of fistula.