[Diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis in adolescents].

OBJECTIVE: To discuss the clinical feature, diagnosis and treatment options of adolescent endometriosis. METHODS: The records of adolescent patients with endometriosis (11-20 years old) who were admitted to First, Second and Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhongshan University and Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital between 1990 and 2003 were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Forty-three patients were diagnosed as endometriosis either by laparotomy or laparoscopy. The chief symptoms leading to the diagnosis were palpable pelvic mass (18/43), dysmenorrhea (15/43), chronic pelvic mass (10/43) and acute pelvic pain (4/43). The majority of patients (53%) presented with the revised AFS-r classification stage III, 8 cases (19%) presented with stage I, 3 cases (7%) with stage II and 9 cases (21%) with stage IV. Nine cases (21%) had complicated genital tract abnormalities. Conservative operations, including salpingo-oophorectomy ins cases, ovarian cystectomy in 31 cases and laparoscopic vaporization in 8 cases, were performed. Surgeries were followed by hormonal suppression using oral contraceptives in a continuous or cyclic manner. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent endometriosis may occur around 4.6 years after menarche. The chief symptoms are palpable pelvic mass and dysmenorrhea. The treatment of endometriosis in adolescence does not differ principally from that in adult women. In the treatment of endometriosis and for the prevention of recurrence, it is recommended to give 3-6 months of oral contraceptives.