Abstract:

Objective·To analyze clinical characteristics and diagnostic and therapeutic procedure of patients with abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) and explore effective treatment and prevention methods. Methods·Clinical data of 121 AWE cases were retrospectively analyzed. Results·Of 121 AWE cases, 120 cases (99.2%) were secondary to cesarean section with a median latency of 24 months. Of 94 cases (77.7%) with the description of cesarean section incision type, 65 cases (69.1%) had the transverse incision (Pfannenstiel incision) and the other 29 cases (30.9%) had the vertical midline incision. All patients underwent the excision of endometriosis lesions and a total of 146 lesions were excised. Of 146 lesions, the upper bound of 97 lesions (66.4%) was in the subcutaneous fat layer, the upper bound of 26 lesions (17.8%) was in the anterior rectus sheath, and the upper bound of other 23 cases (15.8%) was in the muscular layer. Conclusion·Decreasing the cesarean section rate, optimizing the cesarean section procedure, and protecting the incision are key factors for the prevention of AWE.

Key words: abdominal wall endometriosis, cesarean section, abdominal incision