Treatment of polycystic ovary disease with laparoscopic low-watt bipolar electrocoagulation of the ovaries.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the efficacy of laparoscopic low-watt bipolar electrocoagulation of the ovaries in women with polycystic ovary disease (PCOD).


METHODS
Prospective case series.


METHODS
Hospital-based infertility clinic.


METHODS
Seventy-four consecutive infertile women with PCOD resistant to conventional ovulation-induction regimens.


METHODS
Laparoscopic bipolar low-watt electrocoagulation of the ovarian surface (25 W for 5-12 sec/cyst).


RESULTS
Postoperative follow-up ranged from 18 months to 7 years. Menstrual rhythm returned to normal in all 74 women. All 40 women in whom infertility was solely due to anovulation eventually conceived. Overall, 62 (84%) of the 74 women conceived, 42 spontaneously after surgery and 20 after supplementation with clomiphene. These 62 women had a total of 93 pregnancies: 79 singleton live births, 4 sets of twins, and 10 miscarriages. Twenty-five women conceived twice and three conceived three times. At second-look laparoscopy or cesarean section in 20 women, fine stringlike adhesions on the ovaries were found in 2.


CONCLUSIONS
Laparoscopic low-watt bipolar electrocoagulation of the ovaries is an effective treatment for women with PCOD who fail medical therapy.
Merchant
R N
RN
20 Milldam Road, Acton, MA 01720, USA.
D000328:Adult; D004564:Electrocoagulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D010535:Laparoscopy; D010053:Ovary / Q000601:surgery*; D010060:Ovulation; D011085:Polycystic Ovary Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012086:Reoperation; D016896:Treatment Outcome