[Treatment of rectovaginal endometriosis]

FREQUENT: The most frequent deep localization, endometriosis of the rectovaginal septum may penetrate into the vagina or rectum.

Hormone therapy suppresses menstruation if a short-term regimen is given, but the cost of long-term therapy with LHRH analogues and estrogen substitution may be high.

Definitive treatment is difficult to achieve, but surgery may be required. The risks of surgery for this benign disease must be weighed against the expected benefit, particularly in drug-resistant cases where pain is severe or rectal symptoms predominant.

No specific treatment is required in asymptomatic patients or when unpainful disease is discovered at infertility explorations.