Abstract
Endometriosis is a common entity with varying clinical presentation. Spontaneous rupture of a huge ovarian
endometrioma presenting as an acute emergency is a rare occurrence. One such case presenting as an emergency
and its successful laparoscopic management is discussed here.
Keywords
Endometriosis, Rupture, Ovarian, Laparoscopic.
Introduction
Endometriosis is an enigmatic condition. Endometriosis has
many complications like infertility, chronic pelvic pain, infection,
torsion etc. Rupture of an endometrioma is a rare complication.
It can become quite painful, ending in a surgical emergency. One
should be conscious of such possibility to improve the patient
outcome. The diagnostic gold standard remains laparoscopy.
Hereby, we discuss the rare presentation of spontaneous
rupture of huge endometrioma leading to severe anaemia
and massive intraperitoneal haemorrhagic collection managed
laparoscopically. Very few such cases have been reported in
literature and managed laparoscopically.
Case Report
37 year old P1L1 presented to the emergency with severe
abdominal pain and breathing difficulty. Her previous cycles
were regular with gradually increasing dysmenorrhea over a
period of 3 years. She gave history of intake of oral analgesics for
dysmenorrhea with no prior history of hormonal medications.
On admission, she had pulse rate 110bpm, respiratory rate
24/min, blood pressure 90/60mmHg and SpO2 of 97%. On an
abdominal examination, gross distention with shifting dullness
was observed. On per vaginal examination, fullness in right
adnexa with tenderness was noticed. Her urinary pregnancy test
was negative and USG showed huge right ovarian endometrioma
and gross hemoperitoneum reaching upto hepatic pouch. A
contrast MRI was done which suggested 14 × 12cm ruptured
ovarian endometrioma with gross hemoperitoneum (Figure 1).
Her haemoglobin and CA-125 came out to be 7.2gm/dl and 400
IU/l, respectively. Laparoscopic surgery was planned.
lntr a-operatively, omental adhesions were seen. Peritoneal
cavity was filled with 5 litres of chocolate colored fluid (Figure
2A). Uterus was bulky, 14 × 12cm ruptured huge right ovarian
endometrioma stuck to posterior wall of uterus (Figure 2B).
and in left ovary 5 × 5 cm endometriotic cyst were seen.
Right salpingo-oopherectomy was done as no healthy ovarian
tissue identified. Good amount of left ovarian tissue could be
preserved after endometriotic cystectomy. 2 units of PRBC
were transfused during surgery. Her post-operative period
went uneventful. She was discharged on day 3 of her surgery.
Her histopathology report confirmed endometriosis. She was
Case Report
Correspondence to: Namita Jain, Consultant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paras Hospital, Gurugram, Haryana, India
Received date: April 15, 2022; Accepted date: April 28, 2022; Published date: May 5, 2022
Citation: Jain N, Kriplani I, Sharma S, et al. (2022) Spontaneous Rupture of Huge Ovarian Endometrioma and Its Successful Laparoscopic Management: A Case-Study
and Review of Literature. J Obst Gynecol Surg 3(1): pp. 7-9. doi: 10.52916/jogs224023
Copyright: ©2022 Jain N, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Page 7 of 9
Figure 1: MRI images showing huge ovarian endometrioma.
Figure 2A: Intra operative images showing chocolate colored
endometriotic fluid.
J Obst Gynecol Surg,
Volume 3 • Issue 1 • 23
Citation: Jain N, Kriplani I, Sharma S, et al. (2022) Spontaneous Rupture of Huge Ovarian Endometrioma and Its Successful Laparoscopic Management: A Case-Study
and Review of Literature. J Obst Gynecol Surg 3(1): pp. 7-9. doi: 10.52916/jogs224023
Page 8 of 9
minimise long term effects like chronic pelvic pain, adhesions
and infertility.
Pandey et al. published a case of 23 year nulliparous women
who presented with acute pain abdomen [3]. Her CT showed
12 cm left ovarian mass with fluid collection in the intra-
abdominal cavity and thickened omentum mimicking ovarian
cancer. The patient’s CA-125 and CA–19-9 levels were 25,149 U/
mL and 5379 U/mL, respectively. On laparoscopy, ruptured left
ovarian endometrioma with diffused chocolate content all over
intra-abdominal cavity was seen. They concluded that high-
combination CA-125 and CA–19-9 concentrations could indicate
the presence of a ruptured endometrioma. Our case also had
high CA-125 levels.
Huge ovarian endometrioma with gross intraperitoneal
collection with raised CA 125, can masquerade as ovarian
malignancy. Rao et al4 reported a case of bilateral ovarian
endometrioma (6.5cm) with unilateral leak with moderate
haemorrhagic fluid and raised CA 125 of 8482 managed
laparoscopically [4]. Rare instances of malignancy have been
documented, therefore, histology specimen must be sent
in cases of ovarian endometrioma and/or deep infiltrating
endometriosis.
Wang L, et al. published a case of a 35-year-old unmarried
female had multiple episodes of pain in the left lower abdomen
that recurred during menstruation. Ultrasound examination
suggested a 4.9 cm × 4.6 cm left endometriotic cyst [5]. CT of
the abdomen and pelvis revealed a low-density focus measuring
approximately 38 mm in diameter, a blurred mesentery fat plane
in the pelvic cavity, and pelvic effusion. Left ovarian cystectomy,
electrocautery for endometriotic lesions, myomectomy, and
pelvic adhesion lysis were performed under laparoscopy. The
postoperative diagnosis was left ovarian chocolate cyst rupture.
Rupture of endometrioma is also reported during pregnancy.
Zhen lieu et al6 reported a case of ruptured endometrioma
of approx. 5cm in pregnancy at 18 weeks and CA 125 1010
managed laparoscopically. Author suggested rapid growth
under hormonal stimulation or increased blood supply or
due to increased pressure effect of rising uterine size on
the endometriotic cyst might be a predisposing factor. They
concluded that such event can be life-threatening and managing
it timely improves maternal and fetal outcome.
Size of endometrioma or massive hemoperitoneum is not a
contra-indication for laparoscopy. Certain deviations we used to
manage it laparoscopically were supraumbilical primary port in
place of umbilical port, irrigation with high pressure fluid and
10mm suction irrigation tips. Irrigating more mature clots will
help lyse the solid portions, also facilitating removal of blood
collection.
Conclusion
Early and accurate diagnosis is paramount. Emphasis should be
towards early surgical intervention with aim of effective disease
eradication and in long term, preventing adhesion formation
and preserving fertility.
Conflict of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
Figure 2B: Intra operative images showing ovarian endometrioma.
symptom free after one year of surgery. Follow-up USG showed
normal uterus and normal left ovary.
Discussion
The most common presenting symptoms of endometriosis
are dysmenorrhea and pelvic pain. Spontaneous rupture of a
huge ovarian endometrioma presenting as an acute emergency
is a rare occurrence. Such presentation might be unknown
even to the experienced clinicians. Massive hemoperitoneum
with endometriosis is extremely rare with less than 100 cases
reported in literature. All patients were of childbearing age
likely due to hormonal levels and occurrence of menses.
Differential diagnosis most commonly is the ruptured ectopic
pregnancy, ovarian or adnexal torsion, ruptured dermoid
cyst, pelvic inflammatory disease, follicular rupture in
women with coagulopathy, abdominal tuberculosis, ovarian
hyperstimulation, ovarian malignancy or surgical emergencies.
Medical management has been attempted but 89% cases of
patients ultimately underwent a surgical procedure. The average
volume of abdominal collection was 4470 ± 2625 mL. Various
surgical interventions reported include drainage of collected
blood, excision or endometriotic spot fulguration through
laparotomy or laparoscopy, lysis of adhesions, abdominal
hysterectomy, uni or bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, ovarian
wedge resection or a combination of these [1].
Several aspects of the case like acute presentation, size of
endometrioma and its laparoscopic management are the main
highlights.
Why endometrioma ruptures, the exact cause is not known
but a huge endometrioma due to rapid accumulation can cause
weakening of the cyst wall. It can present as chemical peritonitis
due to the leakage of old blood. Various predisposing factors
like sexual intercourse, ovarian aspiration for IVF or PID could be
identified in the literature.
Morgan et al. reported a case of a 27-year-old who presented with
pain and required multiple blood transfusions [2]. Ultimately, a
diagnostic paracentesis was performed and 4.5 litres of grossly
bloody ascitic fluid was removed. Oral contraceptive pills were
started with diagnosis of endometriosis. At 2 weeks follow-
up visit, no recurrence of symptoms noted. However, some
authors suggest early tendency towards surgical exploration to
J Obst Gynecol Surg,
Volume 3 • Issue 1 • 23
Page 9 of 9
References
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Am J Emerg Med 31(1): pp. 272.
3. Pandey D, Wasinghon P , Huang KG (2019) Laparoscopic
Management of Peritonitis Due to a Ruptured Ovarian
Endometrioma with Extremely High Levels of Cancer
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198-200
4. Rao S, Kapurubandara S, Anpalagan A (2018) Elevated CA 125
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complicated with endometriosis: A case report. World J Clin
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6. Liu Z, Kang JZ , Yin L (2018) Laparoscopic management for
ruptured endometrial cyst in a mid-term pregnancy woman: A
case report and literature review Int J ClinExp Med 11(9): pp.
10140-101.
Citation: Jain N, Kriplani I, Sharma S, et al. (2022) Spontaneous Rupture of Huge Ovarian Endometrioma and Its Successful Laparoscopic Management: A Case-Study
and Review of Literature. J Obst Gynecol Surg 3(1): pp. 7-9. doi: 10.52916/jogs224023
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