Improvement of Post-Operative Quality of Life in Patients 2 Years after Minimally Invasive Surgery for Pain and Deep Infiltrating Endometriosis

This study addressed the improvement in the quality of life of patients 2 years after minimally invasive surgery for painful deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), evaluated with EHP-5 (Endometriosis Health Profile-5) scores and the intensity of dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia. This was a retrospective study, performed in a referral centre for endometriosis, between January 2010 and January 2019. EHP-5 scores were complete for 54 patients, and two subgroups were analysed: classic laparoscopy (CL) vs. robotic laparoscopy (RL), and conservative surgery (ConservS) vs. total surgery (TS). There was an important decrease in 2-year post-operative EHP-5 scores in the global population (pre-op: 61.36 (42.18-68.75) and 2-year post-op: 20.45 (0-38.06); p < 0.001). The Visual Analogic Scale (VAS) was also lower for dysmenorrhea (pre-op: 8 (7-9.75) vs. 2-year post-op: 3 (2-5.25); p < 0.001) and dyspareunia (pre-op: 6 (3.1-8.9) vs. 2-year post-op: 3 (0-6); p < 0.001). In the subgroup analysis, EHP-5 scores were improved in the RL group (pre-op: 65.9 (59.09-71.02) vs. 2-year post-op: 11.4 (0-38.06); p < 0.001) and the CL group (pre-op: 50 (34.65-68.18) vs. 2-year post-op: 27.27 (14.20-40.90); p < 0.001), with a slight advantage for RL (p = 0.04), and the same improvements were found for ConservS (pre-op: 61.4 (38.06-71.59) vs. 2-year post-op: 22.7 (11.93-38.07); p < 0.001) and TS groups (pre-op: 61.59 (51.70-68.75) vs. 2-year post-op: 13.63 (0-44.30); p < 0.001). Minimally invasive surgery improved the quality of life for DIE patients 2 years after surgery, and conservative surgery showed comparable results to total surgery.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that minimally invasive surgery improves the quality of life for patients with painful deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) two years after surgery, and conservative surgery shows comparable results to total surgery.