Published online Nov 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i33.12136
Peer-review started: July 6, 2022
First decision: September 25, 2022
Revised: September 30, 2022
Accepted: October 26, 2022
Article in press: October 26, 2022
Published online: November 26, 2022
Tubal endometriosis (TEM) is characterized by ectopic endometrial glands and/or stroma within any part of the fallopian tube. TEM is difficult to diagnose during surgery and is usually detected by pathology after surgery.
The fields of infertility and EM management would benefit from further studies that evaluate the role of fallopian tubes and the anatomical location of endometriosis (EM) lesions in patients with infertility and pelvic pain.
To provide a clinical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of TEM.
In this study, the data of 30 patients who underwent laparoscopic salpingectomy due to various gynecological diseases and had pathological confirmation of TEM at our hospital were retrospectively analyzed, and the clinical basis for the diagnosis and treatment of TEM was evaluated.
Pathology showed that only 2 patients had TEM without any other gynecological diseases, the rest had one or more lesions. The EM lesions of the unilateral fallopian tube and unilateral ovary were ipsilateral. One patient had left TEM combined with a left rudimentary uterine horn and a left ovarian endometriosis (OEM) cyst. The rate of TEM combined with EM (especially OEM) was higher than that of other gynecological diseases (P = 0.0001), which indicates that TEM is related to OEM.
The final diagnosis of TEM depends on pathological examination since there are no specific clinical characteristics. The pathogenesis and mechanism of TEM have not been determined, but the correlation between TEM and OEM remains to be studied. The treatment of EM may help to increase the natural pregnancy rates, but further studies are needed for confirmation.
The study of TEM will provide new ideas for the treatment of female infertility and other diseases and thus has very important clinical significance.