Abdominal Wall Endometriosis: Case-Series Study and a Systematic Review

Abstract

Abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) is the presence of endometrial gland and stroma in the abdominal wall that should be kept in mind in differential diagnosis of pelvic pain due to especially increased C-section rates. Between January 2000 and July 2018, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were systematically reviewed using the search criteria "abdominal wall endometriosis," "abdominal wall endometriomas,". Only the studies having over 20 patients were included. Case-series, case-control studies, and articles in languages other than English were excluded. Number of the patients, patients 'age, study design, previous surgical history, most common symptom, time interval to symptoms, treatment, recurrence rate, and tumour size were investigated. In Total, 18 studies and 994 women were included in the study. Case studies, studies with less than 20 cases, non-English articles were excluded from the study. In the included studies, the numbers of minimum and maximum woman were 20 and 227, respectively. AWE significantly impairs the quality of life in reproductive age patients and is commonly seen in women with previous history of laparotomy, especially those who underwent cesarean section. Therefore, it must be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of women who have a history of pain and a history of previous surgery. © 2022 Ondokuz Mayis Universitesi. All rights reserved.