title: Clinical manifestations of abdominal wall endometriosis: a single center experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to investigate the clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients diagnosed with AWE at the Gil Medical Center from January 2002 to September 2010 were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirty-seven women were treated for AWE during the study period. Median age was 34 (range 24-45) years, and median duration from last pelvic surgery until symptom onset was 30 (range 6-96) months. The most common initial symptom was a palpable mass (36, 97.2 %), followed by cyclic or spontaneous pain (21, 56.8 %). Preoperative diagnoses were accurate in 20 of 29 patients (68.9 %), who underwent a preoperative imaging study. The accuracy of abdominal US was 80 % (12/15). All patients underwent wide excision, and the median tumor size was 3.5 (range 1.0-10.0) cm. One patient experienced recurrence at 34 months postoperatively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physicians should be aware of AWE in any woman presenting with palpable mass and/or pain at the abdominal wall, especially after pelvic surgery. Adequate preoperative estimation and wide excision might be essential for the treatment of AWE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeonghyun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Jeong-Heum
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.forename: Won-Suk
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tae Ho
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Jung Nam
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Woon Kee
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography