Endocrine effects of ovarian electrocautery in patients with polycystic ovarian disease

The mechanism by which ovarian electrocautery induces regular ovulatory cycles was studied in 16 women with polycystic ovarian disease (PCO) and compared with 25 normal fertile women who were undergoing sterilization by tubal electrocautery. Gonadotrophins (LH and FSH), prolactin, androgens, oestrogens, 17-hydroxyprogesterone and progesterone were determined immediately before operation and 24 h later. Following the sampling of blood for these tests, 100 micrograms of gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) was given intravenously and the LH and FSH responses were measured at 30 min. In the PCO-group, these tests were repeated after the first induced ovulatory cycle. After operation, LH increased only in the patients with PCO and this increase was associated with an enhanced response to GnRH, FSH showed a similar response to GnRH, also confined to the PCO-group. These pituitary responses are best explained by a change in ovarian feedback induced by the direct electrocautery of the glands in the PCO-group. There was little change in serum oestrogen. Prolactin showed an increment in all cases and serum androgens were reduced in all groups, most pronounced in the PCO patients, possibly as a result of the stress of operation. An ovarian factor--released or reduced by the electrocautery--seems to be responsible for the changes.