Endometriosis of the abdominal wall

Endometriosis is ectopic endometrial tissue that responds to hormonal stimulation and is found 8-15 per cent of all menstruating women. Endometrioma in/or close to a surgical scar is rare and occurs in 0.1 per cent of women who underwent cesarean section. When localized at the abdominal wall, the disease presents as a painful swelling resembling other lesions, such as hernias, post-operative ventral hernias, hematomas, granulomas, abscesses, and tumors. Endometriosis of the abdominal wall may not be considered in the differential diagnosis of masses detected in/or close cesarean scar. Three cases are reported here. All of them underwent surgery and the error of the pre-operative diagnosis was revealed by histology in two cases. Actually, only one case was suspected pre-operatively.