Surgical approaches to pelvic infections in women.

Pelvic abscess is a complication of gynecologic disease or obstetric surgery. Tuboovarian complex is differentiated from abscesses because of the absence of a true abscess wall; treatment of a tuboovarian complex is conservative. The diagnosis of tuboovarian complex is made by history, pelvic examination and ultrasonography. Tuboovarian abscesses (TOAs) are sequelae of surgical procedures. Both conventional and novel surgical techniques can be used to manage them. Pelvic thrombophlebitis and ovarian vein thrombosis are late complications of pelvic infections that may be associated with significant morbidity and mortality.