Long-term effects of surgically corrected menstrual outflow obstruction: A case-control study

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Surgical Outcomes
• Patient-Reported Health

Background:

• Congenital Müllerian anomalies can cause menstrual outflow obstruction.
• Surgical correction is performed to alleviate obstruction.
• Long-term sequelae of these surgeries require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess long-term pain and health status in adult patients after surgical correction of obstructing Müllerian anomalies.
• To compare outcomes between surgically treated patients and a control group.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 38 adult patients with surgically corrected Müllerian anomalies and 54 controls.
• Data collected 2 years post-first surgery using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain, European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-3L), and Endometriosis Health Profile (EHP-30) questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Patients reported significantly higher actual and maximum abdominal pain scores compared to controls (VAS: 11 vs 0, P=0.007; 48 vs 21, P=0.035).
• EQ-5D-3L scores indicated more pain, discomfort, mood problems, and poorer subjective and self-rated health states in patients (P<0.05 for all).
• EHP-30 revealed a significantly poorer self-rated health state in patients across four subscales.

Conclusions:

• Adult patients with surgically corrected menstrual obstruction experience statistically significant higher abdominal pain.
• These patients also report a poorer self-rated health state compared to controls.
• Findings underscore the need for ongoing management of pain and health-related quality of life in this population.