PURPOSE: to identify the incidence and associated factors of surgical scar endometriosis. METHODS: a retrospective cohort observational study performed from the medical records of female patients attended at the Clinical Hospital of Univesidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) with histopathological diagnosis of scar endometriosis from May 1978 to December 2003. RESULTS: a total of 72 patients were included in the study. The incidence of scar endometriosis after cesarean section was significantly higher than after episiotomy (0.2% and 0.06%, respectively; p<0.00001) with relative risk of 3.3. The women’s age, when diagnosed, ranged from 16 to 48 years old, (mean=30.8 years old). The scar location varied according to the previous surgery: 46 scars after cesarean sections, one after hysterectomy and one after abdominal surgery (48 lesions in the abdominal wall); 19 scars after episiotomy, one because of relapse and two after pelvic floor surgeries (22 pelvic wounds); two women had not been submitted to previous gynecological surgery (one umbilical endometrioma and one lesion in the posterior vaginal wall). Pain was the most frequent symptom (80%), followed by a node (79%) and, in more than 40%, the pain and the node suffered modification with menstruation. Other less frequent complaints were: dyspareunia, secondary infertility, pelvic pain, dysmenorrhoea, scar secretion, menorrhagia pain when evacuating. The mean time observed between the surgery and the beginning of the symptoms was of 3.7 years. The average size of the endometriomas was 3.07 cm. The diagnosis based on clinic evaluation was correct in 71% of the cases. The choice of treatment in all the cases was the surgical excision. In only one incident there was relapse and new intervention. CONCLUSIONS: scar endometriosis is a rare situation originated, in most cases, after obstetrical surgical procedure, with higher risk after cesarean section. It is a highly suggestive clinical condition, with a rare necessity of complementary diagnostic procedures, and the best treatment choice is the surgical excision.
Endometriosis; Endometriosis; Cesarean section; Cicatrix; Postoperative complications