Treatment independent pregnancy with operative laparoscopy for endometriosis in an in vitro fertilization program

Thirty-nine patients with Stage I to IV endometriosis and at least 5 years of primary infertility were enrolled in the Johns Hopkins In Vitro Fertilization Program. At the time of laparoscopic oocyte retrieval, operative endoscopy with lysis of adhesions, fulguration or resection of pelvic endometriosis, or enucleation of ovarian endometriomas was performed. Although the in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer cycle did not result in pregnancy, 12 patients (28%) conceived within 10 months of the operative laparoscopic procedure. Nine of the pregnancies occurred in patients with Stage I to II endometriosis.