Chapter 12 Related specialties

Extract Endometriosis Introduction Endometriosis is defined as the presence of endometrial stroma or glands outside the uterine cavity. Cyclical stimulation of ectopic endometrial tissue may induce a chronic inflammatory reaction associated with symptoms including chronic pelvic pain and infertility. Endometriosis is unusual in being a non-malignant condition that demonstrates invasive characteristics. The condition can exhibit a wide range of diverse clinical manifestations. Clinical appearances often correlate poorly with symptom severity. Severe endometriosis may be encountered in the asymptomatic patient. Aetiology ... Prevalence ... Presentation Symptoms associated with endometriosis include: ... Objective classification systems, such as the revised American Fertility Society (rAFS) classification, may be used to stage disease severity according to operative appearances but there is no correlation between these scores and the type or severity of symptoms. The location of the lesion is probably more important for the colorectal surgeon. Presentations to the colorectal surgeon include: ... Appearances and localization