Visual pain mapping in endometriosis

PURPOSE: To construct pain maps in order to describe the distribution of pelvic pain in a group of endometriosis patients and endometriosis-free patients, to assess the feasibility of this method. METHODS: A total of 159 patients with pelvic pain who were scheduled for diagnostic laparoscopy. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients with and 42 patients without endometriosis were included. The pain distribution between these two patient groups appeared to differ in some peripheral anatomical structures. In the endometriosis patients, the pain was most frequently located in the rectouterine pouch. CONCLUSIONS: In endometriosis patients, pain mapping to assess preoperative pain sensations relative to the anatomic location of endometriotic lesions is feasible. The pain provoked by vaginal examination is frequently perceived as median relative to the actual anatomic location of the endometriotic lesions. Several anatomic and neurophysiological factors may explain this phenomenon.