Surgical management of diaphragmatic and thoracic endometriosis': A French multicentric descriptive study

Surgical management of Diaphragmatic and thoracic endometriosis (DTE) is still controversial, a thoracic or an abdominal approach can be proposed.

We conducted a multicentric retrospective study in 8 thoracic, gynecology or digestive surgery units in 5 French university hospitals. The main objective was to review the current management of DTE.

50 patients operated for DTE from 2010 to 2017 were included: 26 with a thoracic approach and 24 with an abdominal approach. Preoperative pelvic endometriosis (PE) concerned 25 patients. In 38 patients, DTE diagnosis was made on clinical symptoms (pneumothorax (n = 19), chronic or catamenial chest pain (n = 18) or hemopneumothorax (n = 1)). Median time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 47 months (0-212). PE surgery concurrently occurred in 22 patients. We report diaphragmatic nodules, pleuropulmonary nodules and diaphragmatic perforations in 42, 5 and 22 women respectively. Lesions were right-sided in 45 patients. Nodules were destructed in 12 cases and resected in 38 cases. When a diaphragmatic reconstruction was needed (n = 31), a simple suture was performed in 26 patients, while 5 patients needed a mesh repair. Pleural symphysis was performed for all patients who received a thoracic approach. DTE resection was considered complete in 46 patients. Three patients had severe 30-days complications of DTE surgery. Median follow-up was 20 months (range 1-69). Recurrence occurred in 10 patients.

The results emphasize the importance of systematically looking for chest pain in patients suffering from PE and underline the lack of a standardized procedure and treatment in DTE.