STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the functional ovarian damage associated with the use of bipolar coagulation versus ovarian suture after laparoscopic excision of ovarian endometriomas in patients with a solitary ovary. DESIGN: Retrospective study (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). SETTING: Tertiary care center. PATIENTS: Forty-seven consecutive women with a single ovary and regular menses who underwent laparoscopic stripping of one or more ovarian endometriomas between June 1996 and June 2001. Intervention. Twenty-one patients had bipolar electrocoagulation (group A), while 26 had suturing of the ovary (group B). Plasma follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol levels were determined before surgery and re-evaluated at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: At 12-month follow-up, six patients (29%) in group A had oligo-amenorrhea versus three patients (12%) in group B (p = .14). Follicle-stimulating hormone levels between 10 and 20 mlU/mL were found in five patients (24%) in group A and in three patients (12%) in group B, whereas FSH levels above 20 mlU/mL were found in three patients (14%) in group A and in no patient in group B. Eight patients (38%) in group A had FSH levels greater than 10 mlU/mL versus three patients (12%) in group B (p = .042). Overall, repeated analysis of variance showed a marginally significant difference (p = .06) in FSH values between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that bipolar electrocoagulation of the ovarian parenchyma after laparoscopic stripping of an endometriotic ovarian cyst adversely affects ovarian function.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the functional ovarian damage associated with the use of bipolar coagulation versus ovarian suture after laparoscopic excision of ovarian endometriomas in patients with a solitary ovary. DESIGN: Retrospective study (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). SETTING: Tertiary care center. PATIENTS: Forty-seven consecutive women with a single ovary and regular menses who underwent laparoscopic stripping of one or more ovarian endometriomas between June 1996 and June 2001. Intervention. Twenty-one patients had bipolar electrocoagulation (group A), while 26 had suturing of the ovary (group B). Plasma follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and estradiol levels were determined before surgery and re-evaluated at 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: At 12-month follow-up, six patients (29%) in group A had oligo-amenorrhea versus three patients (12%) in group B (p = .14). Follicle-stimulating hormone levels between 10 and 20 mlU/mL were found in five patients (24%) in group A and in three patients (12%) in group B, whereas FSH levels above 20 mlU/mL were found in three patients (14%) in group A and in no patient in group B. Eight patients (38%) in group A had FSH levels greater than 10 mlU/mL versus three patients (12%) in group B (p = .042). Overall, repeated analysis of variance showed a marginally significant difference (p = .06) in FSH values between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that bipolar electrocoagulation of the ovarian parenchyma after laparoscopic stripping of an endometriotic ovarian cyst adversely affects ovarian function.