[Surgical management of rectovaginal septum endometriosis from a continuous series of 50 cases]

Camagna O, O. Camagna, C Dhainaut, Dhainaut C, Dupuis O, Olivier Dupuis, O Dupuis, Soncini E, E Soncini, B Martin, Brigitte Martin, Martin B, L. Palazzo, Palazzo L, D Chosidow, Chosidow D, Denis Chosidow, P Madelenat, P Madélénat, Madelenat P
Gynecologie, obstetrique & fertilite · 2004 · vol. 32(3) , pp. 199–209 · doi:10.1016/j.gyobfe.2003.12.012 · PMID:15123117 · W2094166588
Other OA: closed CC0 ⤵ 39 in-corpus citations
View on OpenAlex View on PubMed View at publisher
⚙ AI-generated summary by gemini-2.5-flash-lite, 2026-07-18 ⓘ

MRI and ano-rectal endosonography effectively diagnosed rectovaginal septum endometriosis, with ARES showing higher sensitivity for rectal infiltration, and surgical excision improved pain symptoms in 90% of patients.

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

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess the value of MRI and ano-rectal endosonography (ARES) for the diagnosis and surgical prognosis of rectovaginal septum endometriosis and to analyse the surgical management in order to evaluate its functional results and complications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 50 consecutive patients operated for a clinical presumption of endometriosis nodule of the recto vaginal septum. Thirty-nine patients had a MRI, 31 an ARES and 28 both exams. All the patients had a complete dissection of the rectovaginal septum and all lesions were excised. RESULTS: For the diagnosis of rectovaginal septum endometriosis nodule, MRI results are: sensitivity 73%, specificity 50%, positive predictive value (PPV) 89%, negative predictive value (NPV) 25%; for uterosacral ligaments involvement: sensitivity 84%, specificity 95%, PPV 94%, NPV 86% and for rectal wall infiltration: sensitivity 53%, specificity 82%, PPV 69%, NPV 69%. The ARES results for diagnosis of rectovaginal septum endometriosis nodule are: sensitivity 93%, specificity 100%, PPV 100%, NPV 50% and for rectal wall infiltration: sensitivity 100%, specificity 71%, PPV 81%, NPV 100%. ARES appeared more sensitive than MRI for the detection of rectal wall infiltration (P = 0.002) and for rectovaginal septum endometriosis nodule diagnosis (P = 0.03). Eighty-nine percent of the patients had a coelioscopy in first intention and 15 laparoconversions were performed, 11 in order to perform a digestive resection: 45 nodules were found. In 43cases the nodule was excised, associated to 19 digestive resections, 30 colpectomys, and 22 uterosacral ligaments resections. Three patients required an additional surgical treatment by Hartman's procedure with Mickulicz's drainage for peritonitis. Forty-one nodules were endometriosis nodules: the two other cases were fibrosis nodules. Thirty-three patients were interviewed about the evolution of their pains over a mean history of 20 months: 90% of the patients were satisfied with the management results. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the efficiency of MRI for rectovaginal septum endometriosis nodule and uterosacral ligaments involvement diagnosis; accord ARES to rectovaginal septum endometriosis nodule diagnosis and its reliability in establishing a diagnosis of rectal wall involvement. The surgical cure of rectovaginal septum nodules without digestive infiltration is performed by coelioscopic or coelio-vaginal procedure, but in case of associated digestive affliction, laparotomy is actually the standard procedure in order to achieve a complete cure of the lesions. Complications, in particular peritonitis, are not frequent. Our data support the efficiency of radical surgical treatment for the improvement of pain symptoms. Results on fertility seem to be satisfactory, but complication risks suggest being careful in this indication. Clinical examination during a catamenial period is essential in order to evoke the diagnosis. MRI yields a complete map of the sub-peritoneal and peritoneal lesions and ARES allows for the diagnosis of an infiltration of the rectal wall. Pre-operative association of those two exams is actually indispensable for the surgical management of those patients, which consists of complete excision of endometriosical lesions and is efficient at treating pain symptoms and fertility. Complications are rare but severe, therefore, justifying a cure in specialised centres.

My notes (saved in your browser only)

Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis Rectal Diseases Vaginal Diseases Adult Adult Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endosonography Endosonography Endosonography Female Female Humans Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging Magnetic Resonance Imaging Magnetic Resonance Imaging Middle Aged

Citation neighborhood (2-hop)

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. Outer rings show 2-hop neighbours — papers reached through the immediate citers/citees. [ collapse to 1-hop ]

References (64)

Cited by (39)

Source provenance

europepmc
last seen: 2026-10-13T06:10:10.580696+00:00
openalex
last seen: 2026-06-10T17:14:06.276822+00:00
pubmed
last seen: 2026-10-08T21:02:29.018211+00:00
License: CC0 · commercial use OK