Abdominal wall endometrioma: a case report and review of the literature

Abdominal wall endometrioma presenting as a cystic abdominal wall mass: a case report and literature review

Endometriosis is classically defined as 'the presence of endometrial glands and stroma outside of the uterine cavity and musculature'. Although it most commonly occurs in the pelvis, various extrapelvic locations have been reported in the literature. There seems to be a strong association between abdominal wall endometriomas and previous surgical scars. In female patients presenting with a cyclically painful abdominal wall mass, a high index of suspicion for endometrioma must be maintained, especially in the setting of previous gynecologic surgery. Although there may be a role for medical management of symptoms, the most definitive treatment of an abdominal wall endometrioma appears to be wide local excision with negative margins. This paper presents a 39-year-old female with an extensive gynecologic surgical history presenting with a 6 × 6 cm cyclically tender abdominal wall endometrioma treated with wide local excision.

An Abdominal Wall Desmoid Tumour Mimicking Cesarean Scar Endometriomas: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abdominal wall desmoid tumours (DT) are rare, slow-growing benign muscular-aponeurotic fibrous tumours with the tendency to locally invade and recur. They constitute 0.03% of all neoplasms and high infiltration and recurrence rate, but there is no metastatic potential. Although surgery is the primary treatment modality, the optimal treatment remains unclear. Abdominal wall endometriosis is also an unusual disease, and preoperative clinical diagnosis is not always easy. The preoperative radiologic imaging modalities may not aid all the time. Herein, we report an abdominal mass presenting as cyclic pain. Forty-two years old woman who gave birth by cesarean section admitted the complaints of painful abdominal mass (78x45 mm in size) under her cesarean incision scar. She had severe pain, particularly during menstruation. The clinical and radiological imaging findings mimicking endometrioma. We performed wide surgical excision of mass with a 1 cm tumor-free margin with the diagnosis of a benign mesenchymal tumor in the frozen section. The postoperative course was uneventful and recovered without any complication and recurrence three years after surgery. This report presents a case of abdominal wall desmoid tumor mimicking endometrioma. In this paper, shortcomings in diagnosis, abdominal wall endometriomas, and DTs were discussed in the view of literature.

Endometriosis node in gynaecologic scars: a study of 17 patients and the diagnostic considerations in clinical experience in tertiary care center

Background

Endometriosis nodes are observed in extra pelvic locations, particularly in gynaecological scars, with the abdominal wall being one of the most frequent locations. The main objective of the study is to review patient characteristics of cases of endometriosis nodes in gynaecological scars.

Methods

A retrospective, observational and descriptive study with a cohort of patients from Hospital 12 de Octubre was conducted from January 2000 to January 2012. We analysed all of the patients who presented with an endometriosis node in a gynaecological scar presentation who had undergone surgery in that period. Descriptive data were collected and analysed.

Results

A total of 17 patients with an anatomopathological diagnosis of an endometriosis node in a gynaecological scar were found. The following variables were studied: the age at diagnosis (32.5 years +/− 5.5 years), personal and obstetric history, time from surgery to diagnosis (4.2 years +/− 3.4 years), symptoms (a painful mass that grows during menstruation is the most frequent symptom in our patients), technical analyses by computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR) or fine needle aspiration (FNA) (77% of the patients), node size (2.5 cm +/− 1.1 cm) and location (caesarean scar, 82%; episiotomy scar, 11.7%; and laparoscopic surgery port, 5.8%), involvement of adjacent structures (29% of the patients), treatment (exeresis with a security margin in all the patients) and other endometriosis locations (14% of the patients).

Conclusions

A high level of suspicion is required to diagnose gynaecological scar endometriosis, which should be suspected in the differential diagnosis of scar masses in reproductive-aged women.

Several theories have been proposed to explain the formation of endometriosis nodes in extrauterine localizations. The two of them that seem to be more plausible are the metaplasia and transport theories.

Imaging with ultrasound, CT and MR facilitate the diagnosis. FNA could be used for preoperative diagnosis.

Treatment must be by node resection with a security margin. In some cases, surgery could be combined with hormonal treatment.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12905-015-0170-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Endometriosis in a spigelian hernia sac: an unexpected finding

Describes the existence of endometrioma in a spigelian hernia sac. Spigelian Hernia is a rare ventral hernia, presenting difficulties in diagnosis and carrying a high incarceration and obstruction risk. Endometriomas occur due to implantation of endometrial cells into a surgical wound, most often after a cesarean delivery. A 37-year-old woman presented to our department with persistent abdominal pain, exacerbating during menses, and vomiting for 2 days. Physical examination revealed a mass-like lesion in the border between the left-upper and left-lower quadrant. Ultrasound examination was inconclusive and a computed tomography scan of the abdomen revealed an abdominal wall mass. During surgery, a spigelian hernia was found 5 to 7 cm above a previous cesarean incision. Tissue like "chocolate cysts" was present at the hernia sac. Hernia was repaired while tissue was excised and sent for histological examination that confirmed the diagnosis. Spigelian hernia is a hernia presenting difficulties in diagnosis and treatment. Endometrioma in a spigelian hernia sac is a rare diagnosis, confirmed only histologically. Clinical suspicion can be posed only through symptoms and thorough investigation.

5-Year data analysis of patients following abdominal wall endometrioma surgery

Background

Endometriosis is a disorder in which an ectopic endometrial tissue grows outside the uterine cavity. The ectopic endometrium embedded in the subcutaneous fatty layer and the muscles of abdominal wall is called as abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE). AWE is a rare condition; however, it is usually known to develop along with previous surgical scars. Caesarean section and hysterectomy are considered to be commonly associated with the development of AWE.

Methods

We evaluated the data of the patients who underwent AWE surgery between March 2009 and March 2014.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 32.5 years. We found a previous history of caesarean section in all of the patients. The most frequent symptoms of the patients were abdominal mass sensation and abdominal pain. Invasion of endometriosis to fat layer, fascia, muscular layer, and peritoneum was recorded. Three masses were located within the scar regions.

Conclusions

We can conclude that there is a high prevalence of caesarean sections among the women with AWE.

ESHRE guideline: management of women with endometriosis

STUDY QUESTION

What is the optimal management of women with endometriosis based on the best available evidence in the literature?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Using the structured methodology of the Manual for ESHRE Guideline Development, 83 recommendations were formulated that answered the 22 key questions on optimal management of women with endometriosis.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis (2005) has been a reference point for best clinical care in endometriosis for years, but this guideline was in need of updating.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

This guideline was produced by a group of experts in the field using the methodology of the Manual for ESHRE Guideline Development, including a thorough systematic search of the literature, quality assessment of the included papers up to January 2012 and consensus within the guideline group on all recommendations. To ensure input from women with endometriosis, a patient representative was part of the guideline development group. In addition, patient and additional clinical input was collected during the scoping and review phase of the guideline.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

NA.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

The guideline provides 83 recommendations on diagnosis of endometriosis and on the treatment of endometriosis-associated pain and infertility, on the management of women in whom the disease is found incidentally (without pain or infertility), on prevention of recurrence of disease and/or painful symptoms, on treatment of menopausal symptoms in patients with a history of endometriosis and on the possible association of endometriosis and malignancy.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

We identified several areas in care of women with endometriosis for which robust evidence is lacking. These areas were addressed by formulating good practice points (GPP), based on the expert opinion of the guideline group members.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Since 32 out of the 83 recommendations for the management of women with endometriosis could not be based on high level evidence and therefore were GPP, the guideline group formulated research recommendations to guide future research with the aim of increasing the body of evidence.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

The guideline was developed and funded by ESHRE, covering expenses associated with the guideline meetings, with the literature searches and with the implementation of the guideline. The guideline group members did not receive payment. All guideline group members disclosed any relevant conflicts of interest (see Conflicts of interest).

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NA.

Scar endometriosis in a patient with bladder exstrophy

Endometriosis is an ectopic occurrence of tissue morphologically and functionally resembling endometrial tissue in regions outside the uterine cavity. Although scar endometriosis after surgery has been shown to be most common among all the extrapelvic forms of endometriosis, endometriosis after bladder exstrophy surgery has not been reported, and here we present the first known case. A 26-year-old woman with a history of bladder exstrophy was aware of a painful induration at the operative scar located in the left lower abdominal wall, and presented at our hospital. Although the symptoms resolved, recurring exacerbation was observed after 9 months. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging showed a heterogeneous mass 16 mm in diameter in the left abdominal wall with high signal intensity on T1W1 and T2W1 images. She underwent excisional biopsy of the lesion under general anesthesia. Histopathology confirmed the diagnosis of endometriosis. Eighteen months after surgery, she was well and free from recurrence.

Abdominal wall endometrioma; a 10-year experience and brief review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Abdominal wall endometrioma is a rare condition, which usually develops in a surgical scar of Cesarean section or hysterectomy. Certain factors relating to knowledge of the clinical pattern of this disease make correct diagnosis and treatment difficult. The aim was to identify the different forms of presentation of this disease entity through publishing the results from our experience of surgical management of such lesions.

METHODS

Patients diagnosed with abdominal wall endometrioma over a period of 10 y were identified from the comprehensive surgical database of our institution. The age, parity, symptoms, previous surgeries, initial diagnosis, diagnostic modalities, current operation, and recurrences were surveyed and analyzed.

RESULTS

There were 40 patients with a mean age of 32.3 ± 5.2 y. All of the patients (100%, n = 40) had an abdominal mass in or adjacent to surgical scars. The main symptom was pain, noncyclic (45%, n =18), or cyclic (40%, n = 16) in nature. The mean duration of symptoms was 18.2 ± 23.4 mo. The preoperative diagnosis was correct in 47.5% (n = 19) of the cases. Surgical treatment failed in 3 cases (3/33, 9.1%), and the operations were performed once again.

CONCLUSIONS

Abdominal wall endometriosis may be difficult to diagnose as it is comparatively an unfamiliar entity that has not received its due attention among general surgeons, so far. Therefore, in patients with a palpable subcutaneous mass in or around surgical scars with a history of violation of uterus, a thorough history and physical examination is necessary, and usually sufficient to make correct diagnosis of endometrioma.