Painful Sex Might Be a Valid Indication for Endometriosis Surgery

Patients with rectovaginal endometriosis might benefit the most from a reduction in pain associated with sex following surgery.

Key Points

Highlights: 

• Rectovaginal endometriosis surgery may be associated with reduced dyspareunia

Importance:

• Dyspareunia may be a valid indication for endometriosis surgery.

What’s done here:

• Researchers conducted a prospective longitudinal survey study in patients with endometriosis.

Key results:

• The mean intensity of all pain scores was lower 1 year following endometriosis surgery.
• There was a weak but statistically significant correlation between rectovaginal endometriosis surgery and improvements in dyspareunia after surgery.

Lay Summary

According to a new study published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, the type of endometriosis surgery, and pain improvement after surgery may be linked.  More precisely, rectovaginal endometriosis surgery may be associated with reduced dyspareunia or painful intercourse.

“Clinicians can inform patients that surgery is effective in reducing endometriosis-related pain symptoms,” the authors of the study wrote. “From our data, we can conclude that patients with rectovaginal endometriosis might benefit the most from the reduction of their sexual pain”.

To better understand how much endometriosis surgery reduces pain, a team of researchers led by Dr. Carla Tomassetti from the Department of ObGyn of Leuven University Fertility Centre at University Hospitals Leuven, Department of Development and Regeneration, and KULeuven, Organ System in Leuven, Belgium conducted a prospective longitudinal survey study in patients with endometriosis.

The results showed that the mean intensity of all pain scores was lower 1 year after endometriosis surgery.  There was also a weak but statistically significant correlation between rectovaginal endometriosis surgery and improvements in dyspareunia after surgery.

“Based on these results, we could suggest that deep dyspareunia, even if present as an isolated symptom, might be a valid indication for surgery,” the researchers concluded.  The authors added that future work should focus on the possible link between different types of surgery and sexual function. 

Research Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38428576/