Improving surgical response in women with endometriosis

Researchers have found that women with red endometriosis develop more adnexal lesions following surgical therapy than women with black, white, or clear disease, and that Oxiplex/AP (FzioMed, Inc., San Luis Obispo, Calif.) gel reduces postsurgical adhesion formation, compared with surgery alone, in all subgroups.

The findings come from a small, controlled, double-blind trial involving 37 women (65 with adnexa) receiving laparoscopic surgical treatment for stage I–III endometriosis. The women were randomized to receive barrier gel treatment of the adnexa or surgery alone. They all underwent laparoscopic evaluation 6 to 10 weeks later.

The researchers found that women not using the gel who had at least 50% red lesions had a greater increase in ipsilateral adnexal adhesion scores than patients with mostly black, white, or clear lesions. In addition, women who received the gel had a greater decrease in adnexal adhesion score than control patients, regardless of lesion color.