To operate or not to operate? The impact of surgical treatment on quality of life in women with ovarian endometriosis

Emanuela Spagnolo, David Ramiro‐Cortijo, David Ramiro-Cortijo, Blanca Díaz Fuentes, Blanca Fuentes, María Suarez Vega, Lucía Calvillo-Fernández, Ana López, Alicia Hernández
Frontiers in global women's health · 2025 · vol. 6 , pp. 1606768 · doi:10.3389/fgwh.2025.1606768 · PMID:40584729 · PMC12202412 · W4411292572
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 2 in-corpus citations
📄 Open PDF View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This study found that while psychological well-being and social support are low in all endometriosis groups, surgical treatment in women with ovarian endometriosis preserved vitality, sexual, and occupational functions compared to non-operated women or those with deep endometriosis.

One-sentence paraphrase of the abstract; not a substitute for reading it. No clinical advice. How this works

⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This cross-sectional observational study recruited women aged 25–55 with ovarian endometriosis (OE) who were either operated (OE-S) or not (OE-NS), women with deep endometriosis (DE) who underwent surgical resection, and women without endometriosis as controls, then compared health-related quality of life using SF-36 along with pain-related and endometriosis-specific instruments. The authors found no differences between groups in several SF-36 domains (physical and social function, emotional role, body pain, and global mental health), but women with DE and OE-NS had lower physical role and global health than controls, with lower vitality in DE and higher pain sensitivity in OE-NS and DE; social support perception was also reduced across women with endometriosis. Endometriosis-specific quality of life was lower in DE and OE-NS, while OE-S showed intermediate patterns and had higher sexual and occupational functions than OE-NS and DE, whereas psychological well-being and endometriosis-related support were low across endometriosis groups. The paper’s main limitation is the small, exploratory sample (40 total) with no sample-size calculation, and cross-sectional design does not establish causality regarding surgery effects. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — specifically ovarian endometriosis surgery versus no surgery and how quality of life differs among ovarian versus deep endometriosis groups.

Read from the paper's body, not the abstract. Not a substitute for reading the paper. No clinical advice. How this works

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a chronic gynecological condition that impacts on women's health, reducing their quality of life. Ovarian endometriosis (OE) and deep endometriosis (DE) are the primary manifestations. While surgical intervention in OE is common, its effects on quality of life remain debated. This study aims to assess global health perception and quality of life in women with OE with and without surgery to inform targeted interventions strategies. METHODS: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Hospital Universitario La Paz (Spain) and included women aged 25-55 diagnosed with OE, operated (OE-S) or not (OE-NS), as well as those with DE who had surgical resection. Women without endometriosis (control) was also included. Health-related quality of life was measured by SF-36, while pain perception, social support, and endometriosis-specific quality of life were assessed through validated instruments. RESULTS: Regarding global health, physical and social functions, emotional role, body pain, and global mental health did not find difference between groups. However, women with DE and OE-NS had significantly lower physical role and global health scores compared to controls. Vitality and physical component scores were lower in DE, while pain sensitivity was higher in OE-NS and DE. Social support perception was reduced in women with OE compared to controls. Quality of life was significantly lower in DE and OE-NS groups, with OE-S showing intermediate scores. Psychological well-being and endometriosis-related support were significantly low across all endometriosis groups. Sexual and occupational functions were higher in OE- S than in OE- NS and DE. Reproductive function was impaired in OE- NS compared to controls, while menstrual characteristics were significantly altered in all endometriosis groups. OE- S exhibited intermediate health and quality of life patterns between control and DE groups, whereas OE- NS was more similar to DE. CONCLUSION: Psychological well-being and social support are reduced in all endometriosis groups, but surgical treatment in women with ovarian endometriosis preserve vitality, sexual, and occupational functions. A multidisciplinary approach is essential to improve quality of life in women with endometriosis.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Outcome instruments

EHP-30

Condition tags

endometriosis

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (46)

Cited by (2)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-06-18T06:15:08.409253+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pmc
last seen: 2026-05-13T20:22:03.195721+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-06-18T06:11:41.154617+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK