Recurrence and prevention of endometriosis

Endometriosis recurrence can be considered as the shrinkage or disappearance of endometriosis lesions after surgery and/or drug treatment, the recurrence of pain, bleeding and other symptoms after a period of relief, similar to or even worse than before treatment, or the reappearance of endometriosis lesions. Studies have shown that the recurrence rate of endometriosis after conservative surgery is 13.5% in 3 years and as high as 40.3% in 5 years. This means that nearly half of endometriosis patients will relapse after surgery.

To deal with the recurrence of endometriosis, you should do the following:

1. Early detection: Endometriosis patients should be followed up for a long time after surgery and/or drug treatment, that is, they should go to the gynecology clinic for regular checkups. The time and frequency of the checkups are determined by their own condition and treatment.

2. Early treatment: Once endometriosis recurrence is found during follow-up, it should be treated immediately.

Prevention of recurrence of endometriosis

Preventive measures for postoperative recurrence of endometriosis can be selected according to the specific condition, personal wishes and hospital conditions. In general, for patients with ovarian ectopic cysts larger than 3 cm, cyst removal is the first choice for the purpose of preventing recurrence. For patients with combined infertility, they should receive a period of drug treatment after surgery before preparing for pregnancy. All patients who undergo surgery should receive drug treatment for 18-24 months after surgery to prevent the recurrence of endometriosis. Preventing recurrence requires long-term postoperative management, and the core is long-term drug treatment. The doctor will choose the appropriate drug based on its efficacy and safety.