A National Survey of Umbilical Endometriosis in Japan.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To identify the clinical presentation, diagnostic evaluation, operative or medical management, and postoperative recurrence of umbilical endometriosis.

DESIGN

A retrospective national survey.

SETTING

Obstetrics and Gynecology and Plastic Surgery Departments at a teaching hospital in Japan.

PATIENTS

Patients with umbilical endometriosis or malignant transformation.

INTERVENTIONS

A national survey was conducted to identify and evaluate cases of umbilical endometriosis or malignant transformation documented between 2006 and 2016.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

The following were evaluated for each patient: age at diagnosis, body mass index, medical history, presence of extragenital endometriosis, surgical history, symptoms, imaging modalities, surgical therapy, hormonal therapy, follow-up period, postoperative recurrence, and time to recurrence. Ninety-six patients were identified with pathologically diagnosed benign umbilical endometriosis. The patients frequently had swelling (86.5%), pain (81.3%), or bleeding (44.8%) in the umbilicus. Sensitivity was 87.1% for physical examination, 76.5% for transabdominal ultrasonography, 75.6% for computed tomography, and 81.8% for magnetic resonance imaging. The cumulative recurrence rate was 1.34% at 6 months, 6.35% at 12 months, and 6.35% at 60 months after surgery. Importantly, there was no recurrence after wide resection including of the peritoneum (0 of 37 cases). The efficacy of dienogest (an oral progestin), gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists, and oral contraceptives was 91.7%, 81.8%, and 57.1%, respectively. Finally, 2 cases of malignant transformation were identified.

CONCLUSION

There was a low recurrence rate following surgery, and hormonal treatment is an option, although the current findings suggest surgical therapy as the first choice of treatment for umbilical endometriosis.