The effect of treatment on experimentally produced endometrial peritoneal implants

Endometriosis was induced surgically by implanting pieces of endometrium in the uterine mesenteries of 50 rats. Their fertility was then assessed after various treatments. Ten rats with endometriosis were treated with microsurgical excision of implants, 10 with high-frequency diathermy, 10 with danazol, and 10 with intraperitoneal indomethacin. Ten more rats had implants that were left untreated. The results were compared with those of ten rats that had sham surgery with implantation of fat in the uterine mesenteries. Reproductive performance was better in control animals with sham surgery than in animals with endometrial implants. Maximum restoration of fertility was achieved with indomethacin. Microsurgery and danazol therapy both were effective in preventing residual endometriosis, but the animals tended to be less fertile after treatment. Adhesions were most pronounced after diathermy and least pronounced after microsurgery or indomethacin therapy. In rats treated with indomethacin, persistent endometriotic cysts were invariably smaller near the site of intraperitoneal injection: this suggests a local antiprostaglandin effect.