Laparoscopic Excision Versus Ablation for Endometriosis-associated Pain: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The aim of this study was to update the evidence on the surgical management of endometriosis-associated pain. Does laparoscopic excision offer any benefits over laparoscopic ablation? This is a systematic review and meta-analysis in which we searched MEDLINE, Embase, Institute for Scientific Information conference proceedings, the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number registry, the Register and Meta-register for randomized controlled trials, the World Health Organization trials search portal, the Cochrane Library, and the British Library of electronic theses. Three randomized controlled trials were included, which enrolled 335 participants with a sample size per study ranging from 24 to 178 participants. Of these 3 studies, data from 2 could be pooled for meta-analysis. The primary outcome measure was the reduction in the visual analog scale score for dysmenorrhea. The secondary outcome measures included the reduction in the visual analog scale score for dyspareunia, dyschezia, and chronic pelvic pain and the reduction in Endometriosis Health Profile-30 core pain scores. The meta-analysis showed that the excision group had a significantly greater reduction in symptoms of dysmenorrhea (mean difference [MD] = 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.02 to 2.00; p = .05) and dyschezia (MD = 1.31; 95% CI, 0.33−2.29; p = .009) compared with ablation. The symptoms of dyspareunia showed a nonsignificant benefit with excision (MD = 0.96; 95% CI, −0.07 to 1.99; p = .07). Data from 1 study showed a significant reduction in chronic pelvic pain (MD = 2.57; 95% CI, 1.27−3.87; p = .0001) and Endometriosis Health Profile-30 core pain scores (MD = 13.20; 95% CI, 3.70−22.70; p = .006) with the excision group compared with the ablation group. The limited available evidence shows that at 12 months postsurgery, symptoms of dysmenorrhea, dyschezia, and chronic pelvic pain secondary to endometriosis showed a significantly greater improvement with laparoscopic excision compared with ablation.