Impact of surgery on fertility among patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis

The aim of the study was to investigate pregnancy and live birth rate after surgical resection of rectosigmoid deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), and study if complications affect these rates.

Historical case series. 193 patients with rectosigmoid DIE and pregnancy intention undergoing a rectosigmoid resection for DIE from January 2009 to May 2019. All operations were performed at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. Surgical and fertility outcome data were obtained through patient files. Anonymized data was analyzed statistically. Normally distributed continuous variables are stated as means, categorical data as percentages and time to pregnancy as Kaplan-Meier failure function. Live birth rates stratified on complications were tested with chi2 test.

117 patients became pregnant postoperatively with a pregnancy and live birth rate of 60.6% and 53.9%, respectively. 39 patients (20.2%) became pregnant spontaneously and 78 patients (40.4%) by intrauterine insemination or assisted reproductive technologies. Median time to pregnancy after surgery was 12.4 months (range: 0.4-58). Clavien-Dindo complication grade III (none grade IV) was registered among 16.6%. These patients had pregnancy and live birth rates of 50%, not statistically significantly different from those without complications.

Postoperative pregnancy and live birth rates after resection of rectosigmoid endometriosis in this study are in line with conservative treatment, when comparing with the literature. Interestingly, complications (Clavien-Dindo grade III) did not affect live birth rate or time to pregnancy.