Scar endometriosis—a diagnostic dilemma

Scar endometriosis: a case report of this uncommon entity and review of the literature

Scar endometriosis is an infrequent type of extrapelvic endometriosis that is rather close together with obstetrical and gynecological surgeries. It is mostly confused with other dermatological or surgical conditions and delays the diagnosis. We report a case of a 50-year-old woman presenting with scar endometriosis 23 years after her last lower segment caesarean section. The epidemiology, diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatment of the situation are discussed.

Fine-needle aspiration cytology of scar endometriosis: study of seven cases and literature review

Endometriosis is defined as the presence of endometrial-like glands and stroma outside the uterine endometrial lining. Endometrial tissue has also been identified in numerous surgical or procedure scars, including cesarean section and laparoscopic trocar tract. A prospective study was conducted at Maternidade-Escola Assis Chateaubriand, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceara, Brazil in seven patients with abdominal wall mass pathologically proven as scar endometriosis from January 2004 to December 2008. All cases were submitted to fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC). Age ranged from 21 to 42 years old (mean: 30) with parity ranging from 0 to 3 (mean: 1.4). The preceding history of pelvic procedures was miomectomy (1 of 7), cesarean section (3 of 7), and diagnostic laparoscopy (3 of 7). The complaints occurred about 18 months after the surgical proceeding. The FNAC findings were endometrial-like epithelial cells (6 of 7) and stromal cells (6 of 7); decidualization occurred in 2 of 7 cases. Hemosiderin-laden macrophages were present in all cases. FNAC is a fast and accurate method to make the diagnosis before the surgery, avoiding errors in the approach of the abdominal wall endometriosis' scars.