Aims and objectives
Localization of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity is referred to as endometriosis.
Although this condition most commonly involves pelvic organs,
especially ovary and Sacro-uterine ligament,
it may occur at many other sites including the abdominal wall.1-3
We aimed to identify the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) properties of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) in 16 patients.
Methods and materials
A total of 16 women aged between 24 and 44 years were included in the study.
These patients had a total of 16 AWE lesions.There was no history of operation in four patients.
There was a history of diagnostic laparoscopy in two patients.
All other patients had a history of prior gynecological operation (cesarean sections in 10 patients).
In 11 patients,
ultrasonography (US) examination prior to MRI revealed an anterior abdominal wall mass that was suspicious of AWE.
MR imaging of the pelvis was performed...
Results
The patients’ clinical characteristics are shown in Table 1.
Mean age at symptoms appearance was 32,6 ± 5.1 years (ranging from 24 to 44 years).
The presenting complaints were abdominal wall mass (n: 13),
cyclic (n: 12),
and dysmenorrhea (n: 5).
AWE was located dorsally or ventrally to the aponeurosis of the rectus abdominis muscle (n=6,
37.5%) or inside of it (n=10,
62.5%).
The size of the lesions ranged from 13×7 mm to 32×15 mm (TRxAP) in the axial plane.
The AWE lesions appeared heterogeneous...
Conclusion
AWE appears following the implantation of endometrial cells into the soft tissues of the abdominal wall after open uterine surgeries like Cesarean sections.
The incidence rate is reported at 0.4% to 0.1%.4The disease is characterized by the triad of mass in the abdominal wall,
periodic pain associated with menses,
and history of abdominal surgery.
Its treatment is recognized to be broad surgical excision.3The literature mostly contains single case reports or case series about AWE.AWE lesions can be seen almost anywhere on the abdominal wall from...
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Normal 0 false false false TR JA X-NONE
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