Laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis and effects on quality of life: a retrospective study using the short form EHP-5 endometriosis specific questionnaire.

Complete surgical eradication is considered the mainstay of treatment for endometriosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate patients' own assessment of whether their laparoscopic treatment made a difference to their quality of life, as well as to assess local recurrence rates. We performed a retrospective analysis of 49 women who had laparoscopic treatment for endometriosis at our unit between 1 January 2008 and 1 January 2010. Patients were sent the Short Form EHP-5 questionnaire and asked to score their quality of life in relation to endometriosis symptoms, prior to the surgery and up to 48 months afterwards. Subgroup analysis of stage I/II and stage III/IV disease was performed as well as stratification of the period post-operation into 12-24, 25-36 and 37-48 months for follow-up analysis. Overall, the patients reported improvement in quality of life scores with a significant drop in mean scores from 46.9 pre- to 27.5 post-surgery, signifying benefits from the surgical intervention. All subgroups reported improvement in quality of life scores. The overall symptom recurrence rate was 18.3%. We conclude that patients, post-laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis, experience significant improvement in their quality of life, regardless of stage and this can be quantified and qualified.