{"paper_id":"c45fbef3-1953-4ba5-ab62-98ca96b3b66d","body_text":"Abstract\nEndometriosis is a disease characterized by the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterine cavity. It is one of the most common conditions requiring surgery for women during their reproductive years. Endometriosis, although not fatal, may be associated with disabling pain and intractable infertility. The degree of symptoms varies widely and does not always correspond to the extent of pathology encountered at surgery. Small lesions may cause severe pain and infertility whereas larger lesions may be asymptomatic and found only incidentally during surgery for other diagnoses. Diagnosis is typically made or confirmed at laparoscopy or during laparotomy. Colon and rectal surgeons often become involved in the management of patients with intestinal endometriosis. This involvement may occur as a result of a combined procedure with a gynecologist or in management of an endometrioma masquerading as a neoplastic or inflammatory lesion. Treatment for endometriosis is usually multimodal and may include an operation in those patients with infertility, pelvic pain, obstruction, or a poor response to hormonal suppression. Although advances in diagnostic tests and therapy have been made, endometriosis remains a frustrating and incompletely understood disease for both patients and physicians.\nSimilar content being viewed by others\nReferences\nHasson HM. Incidence of endometriosis in diagnostic laparoscopy. J Reprod Med 1976;16:135–138.\nDrake TS, Grunert GM. The unsuspected pelvic factor in the infertility evaluation. Fertil Steril 1980;34:27–31.\nHouston DE, Noller KL, Melton J III, Selwyn BJ. The epidemiology of pelvic endometriosis. Clin Obstet Gynecol 1988;31(4): 787–800.\nHalme J, Stovall D. Endometriosis and its medical management. 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Fertil Steril 1985;43:353.\nEditor information\nEditors and Affiliations\nRights and permissions\nCopyright information\n© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC\nAbout this entry\nCite this entry\nSnyder, M.J., Stryker, S.J. (2007). Endometriosis. In: Wolff, B.G., et al. The ASCRS Textbook of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36374-5_21\nDownload citation\nDOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-36374-5_21\nPublisher Name: Springer, New York, NY\nPrint ISBN: 978-0-387-24846-2\nOnline ISBN: 978-0-387-36374-5\neBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine\nKeywords\nThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.","source_license":"CC0","license_restricted":false}