Analysis of pregnancy outcome and decline of anti-Müllerian hormone after laparoscopic cystectomy for ovarian endometriomas.

AIM

Excision of ovarian endometrioma (OE) may induce the reduction of ovarian reserve. We evaluated pregnancy outcomes after laparoscopic cystectomy (LC), and the pre- and postoperative levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) to consider the ovarian reserve.

METHODS

We enrolled 40 women with OE and 16 women with benign ovarian tumors who hoped to have a child and who underwent LC. To evaluate the ovarian reserve of 40 patients (OE group, n = 24; non-OE group, n = 16), we measured serum AMH levels before and after the surgery.

RESULTS

In the 40 women who underwent LC for OE, the cumulative pregnancy rate was 50%. Prior to the cystectomy, serum AMH levels in the OE group, especially in patients over the age of 35, were significantly lower than those in the non-OE group. Rate of decline in serum AMH in the OE group was significant compared with that in the non-OE group 6 months after surgery. In patients over the age of 35 in the OE group, AMH levels 1 year after surgery decreased noticeably.

CONCLUSION

LC for OE could be a preferred surgical approach, but effective therapeutic strategies will have to be developed to prevent damage to the ovarian reserve, especially for older patients.