Pelvic Pain and Quality of Life Before and After Laparoscopic Bowel Resection for Rectosigmoid Endometriosis: A Prospective, Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Surgery for rectosigmoid endometriosis carries a substantial risk of short-and long-term complications, which has to be counterbalanced against the potential effect of the procedure. Prospective data are scarce in the field of deep infiltrating endometriosis surgery. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to assess pelvic pain and quality of life before and after laparoscopic bowel resection for rectosigmoid endometriosis. DESIGN: The study involved prospectively collected data regarding pelvic pain and quality of life before and after surgery. SETTINGS: It was conducted at a tertiary endometriosis referral unit at Aarhus University Hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 175 women were included. INTERVENTION: Patients underwent laparoscopic bowel resection for endometriosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Questionnaires for pain (Numerical Rating Scale) and quality of life (RAND Short Form-36) were answered before and 1 year after surgery. Data on analgesic and hormone treatment were collected. Preoperative and postoperative pelvic pain and quality-of-life scores were compared, and risk factors for improvement/worsening were identified. RESULTS: A total of 97.1% of the women completed the 1-year follow up. A significant decrease (p = 0.0001) was observed on all pelvic pain parameters. Most profound was the decrease in dyschezia. A significant improvement on all quality-of-life scores was observed (p = 0.0001). A surgical complication did not have a negative impact on outcome 1 year after surgery. The postoperative outcome was not related to the type of surgery. LIMITATIONS: This is an observational study without a control group. Risk factor data should be interpreted with caution, because the study was relatively underpowered for some of the rare outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: A significant and clinically relevant improvement in pelvic pain and quality of life 1 year after laparoscopic bowel resection for endometriosis was found. We strongly recommend surgery for rectosigmoid endometriosis that is unresponsive to conservative treatment.