The Incidence of Endometriosis in Posthysterectomy Women

One hundred consecutive patients, age 24-62, status post total hysterectomy with and without bilateral oophorectomy (BSO), presented with chronic pelvic pain. All underwent laparoscopy. Of those who did not have BSO, 30 had definite endometriosis found at laparoscopy and five had questionable endometriosis. Of the 30 patients found to have definite endometriosis, 24 had a positive history of endometriosis, five had a negative history and one had a questionable history. Sixty-four underwent total hysterectomy with BSO. Of these 64, definite endometriosis was found in 22 at laparoscopy, questionable endometriosis was noted in 3, and findings for 39 were negative. Of the 22 women with positive endometriosis, 19 had a positive history of endometriosis, 2 had a negative history and 1 had a questionable history. Of these 22 patients, 13 were on estrogen replacement therapy, 2 were on estrogen and progesterone, 2 were on testosterone estradiol pellets, 2 were on GnRH analogs, 1 was on danazol and 2 received no medication. In this group, the time between hysterectomy and our laparoscopy was eight months to 15 years. Twenty-four of the 100 patients had a positive history of endometriosis with negative findings at laparoscopy. Our findings support the view that endometriosis will be found at laparoscopy in a significant number of women with chronic pelvic pain status post hysterectomy with or without BSO, especially if the woman has a positive history of endometriosis.