title: The relation of pelvic pain and dense adhesions to Doppler ultrasound findings in patients with ovarian endometriomas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the relation of pelvic pain symptoms and pelvic adhesions to Doppler ultrasound findings in patients with ovarian endometriomas.
  
  
  METHODS
  62 patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for endometrioma were divided into two groups according to their pelvic pain symptoms. Group 1 (n = 27) included patients with pelvic pain, group 2 (n = 35) asymptomatic patients. Patients were evaluated for the vascularization of endometrioma by transvaginal color and power Doppler ultrasonography before the surgery. The presence and amount of blood flow reported in terms of a color scale, pulsed Doppler indices, and dense pelvic adhesions were compared between the groups. The relation of Doppler ultrasound findings to the dense pelvic adhesions was also analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Blood flow was present in 74.1 % (n = 20) of patients in group 1 and 68.6 % (n = 24) in group 2 (p = 0.63). The volume and vascularization of the endometriomas, pulsed Doppler indices, stage of endometriosis, and the presence of dense pelvic adhesions were also similar. Patients with dense pelvic adhesions had significantly higher amount of blood flow compared to patients without adhesions (p = 0.006), but the mean pulsatility index and resistance index were not different between the groups (p = 0.55 and 0.59, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pelvic pain symptoms were not found to be related to endometrioma vascularization. On the other hand, we observed an association between higher vascularized endometrioma and the presence of dense pelvic adhesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Reproductive Endocrinology and Endoscopic Surgery, Zekai Tahir Burak Women's Health Research and Education Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. bernaseckin1@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Berna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Seckin
authors.forename: Ayla Sargin
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Oruc
authors.forename: Figen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Turkcapar
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ugur
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D010049:Ovarian Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017699:Pelvic Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000267:Tissue Adhesions / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color; D055815:Young Adult