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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Fertility Sparing Procedure using Carbon Dioxide Fiber Laser Vaporization of Ovarian Endometrioma
Published on: July 6, 2022
Long-term cyclic and continuous oral contraceptive therapy and endometrioma recurrence: a randomized controlled trial
Renato Seracchioli1, Mohamed Mabrouk, Clarissa Frascà
1Minimally Invasive Gynaecological Surgery Unit, Reproductive Medicine Unit, S Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. seracchioli@aosp.bo.it
Objective:
To evaluate long-term cyclic and continuous administration of oral contraceptive pills (OCP) in preventing ovarian endometrioma recurrence after laparoscopic cystectomy.
Design:
Prospective, randomized, controlled trial.
Setting:
Tertiary care University Hospital.
Patient(S):
Two hundred thirty-nine women who underwent laparoscopic excision of ovarian endometriomas.
Intervention(S):
Patients were divided randomly into three groups: nonusers receiving no therapy and cyclic and continuous users receiving low-dose, monophasic OCP for 24 months in cyclic or continuous administration, respectively.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Endometrioma recurrence, size of recurrent endometrioma, and growth rate during at least 2 years follow-up evaluated by transvaginal ultrasonography.
Result(S):
The crude recurrence rate within 24 months was significantly lower in cyclic (14.7%) and continuous users (8.2%) compared with nonusers (29%). The recurrence-free survival was significantly lower in nonusers compared with cyclic and continuous users. The mean recurrent endometrioma diameter at first observation was significantly lower in cyclic (2.17 +/- 0.45 cm) and continuous users (1.71 +/- 0.19 cm) compared with nonusers (2.73 +/- 0.56 cm). The mean diameter increase every 6 months of follow-up was significantly reduced in cyclic users (0.31 +/- 0.18 cm) and continuous users (0.25 +/- 0.09 cm) versus nonusers (0.48 +/- 0.3 cm). No significant differences between cyclic users and continuous users in terms of endometrioma recurrence were demonstrated.
Conclusion(S):
Long-term cyclic and continuous postoperative use of OCP can effectively reduce and delay endometrioma recurrence.
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