Clinical efficacy of diagnostic laparoscopy in the diagnosis of gynecologic disorders

Kang, Soon Beom; Chung, Hyun Hoon; Lee, Hyo Pyo; Lee, Jin Yong; Chang, Yoon Seok

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
Diagnostic laparoscopy had been frequently used in female infertility. In the present study, we assessed the change of indications and clinical efficacy of diagnostic laparoscopy in gynecologic disorders.
METHODS
A clinical analysis of the recent 8,335 cases of diagnostic laparoscopy from the April, 1994 to August, 2005 was performed and compared with the previous 11,665 cases from June, 1974 to March, 1994. We compared the diagnoses after diagnostic laparoscopy and those after pelvic examination or pelvic ultrasound, and checked the final pathologic diagnoses after operation if performed.
RESULTS
Infertility was the most common indication in earlier period, however, pelvic mass (29.7%), endometriosis (22.1%), and chronic pelvic pain (14.7%) became the major indications of diagnostic laparoscopy in gynecologic disorders in recent period. Diagnoses made by clinical examination or imaging modalities were changed after performing diagnostic laparoscopy in 4.9% of the patients, and the complication rate was 0.24% in this study.
CONCLUSION
Our study reveals that diagnostic laparoscopy is a feasible and safe diagnostic procedure based on out patient department, and it can decrease misdiagnosis and unnecessary operative procedure, and therefore, can be used as a best guideline for individualized treatment of gynecologic disorders.