Oocyte and follicular fluid characteristics in women with mild endometriosis.

The follicular development, fertilization and cleavage rates and follicular fluid endocrinology were assessed in 20 women with mild endometriosis during a spontaneous menstrual cycle. Diagnostic laparoscopy was performed 32 h after the onset of the endogenous luteinizing hormone (LH) surge in the 20 women with laparoscopically confirmed mild endometriosis and in a control group of ten women with tubal infertility. There was no significant difference in oocyte maturity or fertilization and cleavage rates between the women with mild endometriosis and those in the control group. The endocrine milieu of the pre-ovulatory oocyte at the time of aspiration was similar in the two groups.