Laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis

Adequate management of endometriosis by laparoscopy included 3 steps: a laparoscopic diagnosis with peritoneal fluid sampling for cytologic examination and biopsies of implants and of peritoneum to assure a correct diagnosis, a laparoscopic evaluation of extension with the American Fertility Society (AFS) 85 scoring system in order to classify the severity of the disease, and a laparoscopic treatment with the following strategy: drainage of the ovarian endometrioma and careful peritoneal washing, treatment of peritoneal implants, ovariolysis, treatment of the ovarian cysts, hemostasis and peritoneal lavage. Treatment of peritoneal implants is very easily performed by CO2 laser vaporization using a suprapubic puncture. Ovarian endometriomas are treated by laparoscopic cystectomy using a transparietal cystectomy or an intraperitoneal cystectomy. Laser vaporization is used only in case of small ovarian cysts or after an incomplete resection of a large cyst. Results of laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis compare favorably with those obtained with surgical procedures performed by laparotomy with the well known advantage of a laparoscopic approach.