Abstract
Endometriosis is common in infertile patients, but infertility treatment of endometriosis patients is controversial and varied. This article summarizes evidence concerning infertility treatment of endometriosis patients. Endometriosis impairs fertility by causing both anatomical and biochemical distortion in female reproductive system. Medical treatment of endometriosis does not improve fertility, whereas there is some evidence that surgery for mild endometriosis does. There is conflicting evidence regarding removal of endometriomas due to the potential impact on ovarian reserve. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) improves pregnancy rates, although the pregnancy rates are lower than for women without endometriosis. Some women with infertility and endometriosis may benefit from a combination of medical treatment, ART, and surgery. The decision about whether to undergo laparoscopy or superovulation (SO) with intrauterine insemination (IUI) or pursue ART will depend on a variety of factors such as the patient’s age and symptoms, other infertility factors, risk of surgery, the presence of endometrioma, and ovarian reserve.
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Koga, K., Yoshino, O., Hirota, Y., Hirata, T., Harada, M., Osuga, Y. (2014). Infertility Treatment of Endometriosis Patients. In: Harada, T. (eds) Endometriosis. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54421-0_27
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54421-0_27
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