Howard FM

Study objectiveTo evaluate the degree of pain relief provided by laparoscopic surgical treatment of ovarian remnant and ovarian retention syndromes.DesignRetrospective analysis (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).SettingAcademic hospi…

The cause of noncyclical chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in many women is unknown: 30% have no identifiable pelvic pathology, and in those who do the relationship of CPP and the pathology is often unclear. Moreover, epidemiologic studies demonstr…

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) is a common complaint of women presenting for gynecologic and primary care. Evaluation of CPP requires obtaining a careful history including not only obstetrical and gynecologic information but also screening for g…

In this review, the pitfalls that still exist with the surgical treatment of endometriosisassociatedpelvic pain have been discussed and the best evidence regarding various aspects of surgical techniques have been reviewed. When laparoscopy …

Study objectiveTo estimate the usefulness of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) pain descriptors in the diagnostic evaluation of chronic pelvic pain.DesignRetrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-2).Sett…

Interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) is a chronic bladder disorder characterized by pelvic pain and irritative voiding symptoms. The symptoms of IC/PBS can overlap with such conditions as endometriosis, recurrent urinary …

ObjectiveTo estimate the efficacy of common treatments for vulvodynia: topical lidocaine monotherapy, oral desipramine monotherapy, and lidocaine-desipramine combined therapy.MethodsA 12-week randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled t…

Endometriosis remains an enigmatic disorder in that the cause, the natural history, and the precise mechanisms by which it causes pain are not completely understood. The pain symptoms most commonly attributed to endometriosis are dysmenorrh…

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to compare subjects with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) with controls on prior surgeries.Study designIC/PBS subjects were compared with matched controls on surgeries and possi…

ObjectiveA standardized tampon insertion and removal test, the Tampon Test provides an alternative to sexual intercourse pain as an outcome measure for vulvodynia research. We report upon the reliability, validity, and responsiveness to cha…

OBJECTIVE: To examine the roles of physical and sexual abuse in women with chronic pelvic pain using multi-dimensional pain assessment and to compare the chronic pelvic pain experiences of women with physical abuse to those of women with se…

Chronic pelvic pain is a common and significant disorder of women. It is estimated to have a prevalence of 3.8% in women. Often the etiology of chronic pelvic pain is not clear, as there are many disorders of the reproductive tract, gastroi…

OBJECTIVE: Use an evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach to evaluate the evidence regarding efficacy of treatment of endometriosis-associated chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials (RCT). DESIGN: Review …

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the findings and outcomes of laparoscopic conscious pain mapping in women with unsuccessfully treated chronic pelvic pain. METHODS: Fifty consecutive women with at least one prior procedure for chronic pelvic pain had…

More than 40% of laparoscopies are performed for the diagnosis of chronic pelvic pain (CPP). Although laparoscopic evaluation is sometimes considered a routine part of the evaluation, ideally the decision to perform a laparoscopy should be …

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability to treat ovarian retention syndrome (ORS) by operative laparoscopy. DESIGN METHODS: Retrospective observational analysis (Canadian Task Force classification II-2). SETTING: Pelvic pain referral pra…

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of operative laparoscopic treatment at the time of diagnostic laparoscopy in patients with chronic pelvic pain (CPP). DESIGN: A retrospective study of women with CPP and at least 6 months of f…

The goal of this study was to compare laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) with total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH). We performed a prospective comparison of the hospital courses of 30 women, 15 undergoing LAVH and 15 underg…

Published studies relating to the usefulness of diagnostic and operative laparoscopy in women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) were reviewed. This revealed that approximately 40 per cent of all laparoscopies were done for CPP. However, the de…

The gynecological surgical procedures that may be accomplished via operative laparoscopy have dramatically increased in the past decade. Ideally, strong evidence of advantages over traditional surgical approaches should be presented for eac…