Endometriosis

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) identifies pelvic diseases besides rectal cancer and fecal incontinence. Transrectal EUS can identify and stage prostate cancer. This chapter focuses on pelvic endometriosis since it can affect the gastrointestinal tract in 3-37% of severe cases. It is estimated that 3-10% of the women in their fertile period have endometriosis. The medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests can diagnose the presence of endometriosis. Abdominal and pelvic magnetic resonance imaging, transrectal ultrasound, EUS, and video-laparoscopy help in the diagnosis because they have high accuracy. Endometriosis is the presence of stroma outside the uterine cavity. endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration is increasingly used for the diagnosis of endometriosis with rectosigmoid invasion. Video-laparoscopy method is the gold standard for the anatomopathological diagnosis, and can be a very interesting therapeutic tool.