Outcomes after Laparoscopic Excision of Bladder Endometriosis Using a CO2 Laser: A Review of 207 Cases in a Single Center

Abstract

Study objective: Assess efficacy, safety, fertility outcomes and recurrence after laparoscopic resection of bladder endometriosis (BE) using a CO₂ laser.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Settings: University gynecologic surgery unit, referral center for endometriosis.

Patients: A total of 207 women having undergone laparoscopic BE excision between January 1998 and January 2019.

Interventions: None.

Main outcome measures: Intra- and postoperative complication rates. Disease recurrence and fertility outcomes in patients with a minimum 1-year follow-up (n = 176) for "isolated" and "non-isolated" BE groups.

Results: Forty-three patients presented with isolated BE. Bladder "shaving" without mucosae opening was performed in 50.7% cases. No intraoperative complications were noted. One postoperative grade 3 complication was related to BE excision: a bladder breach requiring closure by repeat laparoscopy. Mean (± SD) follow-up was 7.05 (± 4.65) years. In patients wishing to conceive (n = 132), the total pregnancy rate (PR) was 75% (48.5% spontaneous), 76.19% in the isolated BE group (56.3% spontaneous). Among the 94 patients with previous infertility, 74.5% conceived, 50% spontaneously. No statistical difference was found in PR and need for in vitro fertilization between isolated and nonisolated BE groups. BE recurrence rate was 3.4%. No difference was observed between groups with full-thickness bladder resection (4/88) and shaving (2/88) (p = .406). Age at surgery (hazard ratio 0.91 [0.84-0.98], p = .016) and postoperative pregnancy (hazard ratio 0.07 [0.01-0.91], p = .042) showed influence on disease recurrence.

Conclusions: The study demonstrates that laparoscopic BE removal is feasible with very low complications rates and was associated with high PR (both spontaneous and in vitro fertilization), even in patients with previous infertility. BE recurrence is lower than for other endometriosis locations. Bladder endometriosis; Laparoscopy; Deep infiltrating endometriosis; Fertility; Partial bladder resection.

Keywords: Bladder endometriosis; Deep infiltrating endometriosis; Fertility; Laparoscopy; Partial bladder resection.