Safety of transient abdominal ovariopexy in patients with severe endometriosis

To evaluate complications of transient ovariopexy performed to reduce adhesions in patients with severe endometriosis.

A bicentric retrospective study involved 193 consecutive patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for severe endometriosis at 2 French university hospitals from 1997 to 2009. At the end of surgery, unilateral or bilateral transient ovariopexy was performed on 297 ovaries. Immediate (e.g. reproducibility, tolerance, and hospital stay) and long-term (evaluated via vaginal access to the ovaries, ovarian function, and ovarian vascularization) complications were assessed.

The technique, which was easy and reproducible, did not increase hospital stay and was well tolerated. There were 2 (0.7%) immediate complications. There was no difference in ovarian accessibility before and after surgery (177/183 [96.7%] vs 176/183 [96.1%]). Potential vaginal oocyte retrieval for in vitro fertilization was possible for all patients. The antral follicle count and the pulsatility index of suspended ovaries were not different from those of contralateral unsuspended ovaries. Endometrioma excision did not modify these results.

The short- and long-term safety results of transient ovariopexy for adnexal adhesions in patients with severe endometriosis were encouraging.