Quality of life of patients with bowel endometriosis before and after laparoscopic bowel resection

Background: Te purpose of the study was to determine the quality of life in patients with bowel endometriosis before and afer laparoscopic bowel resection. Material and methods: In the retrospective study we included 91 patients who underwent laparoscopic resection of the bowel affected by endometriosis at the Unit for Reproduction and the Unit for Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Ljubljana, in the period from 2002 to 2011. Te study was retrospective. Te patients were sent a questionnaire regarding the symptoms before surgery and the effect of surgery on bowel symptoms, painful menstruation, painful sexual intercourse, chronic pelvic pain and quality of life before and afer surgery; 76 (83.5 %) patients replied to the questionnaire. Results: Before surgery, 72 (94.7 %) patients reported painful menstruation. Improvement or complete relief afer surgery was registered in 57 (79.1 %). Out of 60 (78.9 %) patients who had painful sexual intercourse before surgery, 49 (81.7 %) reported improvement or complete relief afer surgery. Bowel symptoms, present in 52 (68.4 %) patients before surgery, improved or completely disappeared in 48 (92.4 %) afer surgery. Chronic pelvic pain, present in 53 (69.7 %) before surgery, decreased or did not exist any more in 45 patients (86.5 %). Te quality of life before surgery was very poor in 32 patients (42.1 %), and poor in 21 patients (27.8 %). Afer the operation, the quality of life was reported as improved in 22 (28.9 %) and signifcantly improved in 42 (55.3 %). Conclusions: Laparoscopic bowel resection, indicated in extensive symptomatic endometriosis, signifcantly improves the patients’ quality of life.