How does surgery influence female sexuality in patients with endometriosis compared to those with other benign gynecological conditions?

Alexandra Perricos, Manuela Gstoettner, Sahra Iklil, Florian Heinzl, Lejla Sandrieser, Jana Heine, J. Heine, Heinrich Husslein, H Husslein, Lorenz Kuessel, Christine Bekos, René Wenzl
BMC medicine · 2024 · vol. 22(1) , pp. 508 · doi:10.1186/s12916-024-03733-0 · PMID:39501251 · PMC11536777 · W4404073635
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

Surgical removal of endometriotic lesions significantly improved female sexual function scores, specifically desire and satisfaction, within 8-18 weeks post-operation compared to women undergoing surgery for other benign gynecological conditions.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-09 ⓘ

This prospective comparative study from the Medical University of Vienna (2015–2020) examined how laparoscopic surgery affected female sexual function, measured by the German-validated FSFI questionnaire, in 64 women with surgically and histologically confirmed endometriosis versus 38 control patients undergoing surgery for other benign indications (fibroids, adnexal cysts, and/or infertility). Participants completed the FSFI before surgery and again 8–18 weeks afterward; the authors stated patients avoided hormonal medications in defined windows before and after surgery and reported no included cases had intra- or postoperative complications that could alter postoperative course. Preoperative and postoperative full-scale FSFI scores did not differ significantly between endometriosis and controls, but among the women diagnosed with endometriosis, surgical removal of endometriotic lesions significantly increased full-scale FSFI and improved the “desire” and “satisfaction” domains, with other domains improving without statistical significance. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it assesses how surgical excision of endometriotic lesions influences FSFI-measured sexual function compared with surgery for other benign gynecologic conditions.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-dependent, benign condition, affecting 10-15% of women of reproductive age. It is associated with a prevalence of sexual dysfunction that is nearly twice as high as that seen in women with other benign gynecological conditions. Our study aimed to assess the effect of surgical intervention on sexual function, as measured by the FSFI (Female Sexual Function Index) score, in women with endometriosis compared to those with other benign gynecological conditions, both before and after surgery. METHODS: A comparative analysis was conducted at the Medical University of Vienna from 2015 to 2020. The study included patients suspected of having endometriosis, fibroids, adnexal cysts, and/or infertility. Based on findings during surgery, patients were categorized into two groups: those with endometriosis (n = 64) and control patients (n = 38). All participants completed the FSFI questionnaire before surgery and again 8 to 18 weeks after the operation. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in the preoperative FSFI scores between the endometriosis patients and the control group. Similarly, no significant differences were found between the two groups in postoperative scores. However, in women diagnosed with endometriosis, surgical removal of endometriotic lesions significantly increased their full-scale FSFI score, and resulted in a significant improvement in the areas "desire" and "satisfaction". Improvements were noted in all other areas as well, though they were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Our research indicates that the surgical removal of endometriotic lesions can lead to an improvement in sexual function, as measured by the FSFI, within 8 to 18 weeks post-surgery. This improvement was not observed in the control group, which underwent surgery for other benign gynecological issues.

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Outcome instruments

VAS-pain rASRM Enzian

Condition tags

endometriosisinfertility

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Adult Adult Adult Adult Adult Adult Adult Adult Adult

Citation neighborhood

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References (41)

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