Endometriosis

Abstract Endometriosis is a disease defined by the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside of the uterus. While non-fatal, endometriosis can be associated with disabling pelvic pain, abdominal pain, alteration in bowel habits, as well as intractable infertility. Colorectal surgeons become involved with intestinal involvement as part of the multimodal therapy team when endometriosis requires surgery in those patients with infertility, pelvic pain, obstruction, or poor response to hormonal therapy. Medical therapy has a role in treating endometriosis symptomatically to avoid the pitfalls of ablative surgery or the potential role in treating microscopic disease but requires long-term therapy. Surgical treatment has evolved dramatically over time, and conservative preservation of reproductive potential has become the norm. All surgical therapy for endometriosis is best defined as complete excision or ablation of endometrial implants while preserving ovarian function and minimizing postoperative adhesion formation. For many advanced lesions discectomy or low anterior resection may be required for complete extirpation. Access this chapter Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout Purchases are for personal use only Similar content being viewed by others Suggested Reading Bailey HR, Ott MT, Hartendorp P. Aggressive surgical management for advanced colorectal endometriosis. Dis Colon Rectum. 1994;37(8):747–53. Kaufman LC, Smyrk TC, Levy MJ, Enders FT, Oxentenko AS. Symptomatic intestinal endometriosis requiring surgical resection: clinical presentation and preoperative diagnosis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011;106(7):1325–32. Remorgida V, Ragni N, Ferrero S, Anserini P, Torelli P, Fulcheri E. The involvement of the interstitial Cajal cells and the enteric nervous system in bowel endometriosis. Hum Reprod Jan. 2005;20(1):264–71. Wolthuis AM, Meuleman C, Tomassetti C, D’Hooghe T, de Buck van Overstraeten A, D’Hoore A. Bowel endometriosis: colorectal surgeon’s perspective in a multidisciplinary surgical team. World J Gastroenterol. 2014;20(42):15616–23. Author information Authors and Affiliations Corresponding author Editor information Editors and Affiliations Rights and permissions Copyright information © 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG About this chapter Cite this chapter Das, B., Snyder, M.J. (2020). Endometriosis. In: Steele, S., Maykel, J., Wexner, S. (eds) Clinical Decision Making in Colorectal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65942-8_52 Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65942-8_52 Published: Publisher Name: Springer, Cham Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65941-1 Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65942-8 eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)