Recurrence of uterine tissue residues after laparoscopic hysterectomy or myomectomy

Late presentation of extrauterine adenomyomas after laparoscopic morcellation at hysterectomy: a case report

BACKGROUND

An adenomyoma is a well circumscribed form of adenomyosis and can be located within the myometrium, in the endometrium as a polyp, or extrauterine with the last being the rarest presentation amongst the three. With the ongoing advancement in gynecological surgery, the use of electromechanical morcellators have made the removal of large and dense specimens possible with minimally invasive techniques. However, it has also caused an increase in complications which were previously rare. Whilst the tissue is being grinded within the abdominal cavity, residual tissue can spread and remain inside, allowing for implantation to occur and thereby giving rise to recurrence of uterine tissue as a new late postoperative complication. Case presentation A 45-year-old woman presented with worsening constipation and right iliac fossa pain. Her past surgical history consists of laparoscopic supra-cervical hysterectomy that was indicated due to uterine fibroids. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were done, which showed an irregular lobulated heterogeneous mass seen in the presacral space to the right, located on the right lateral aspect of the recto-sigmoid, measuring 4.5 × 4.3 × 4.3 cm in size. A transvaginal ultrasound revealed a cyst in the left ovary. The patient had a treatment course over several months that included Dienogest (progestin) and Goserelin (GnRH analogue) with add-back therapy. In line with the declining response to medications, the patient was advised for a laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy. During the surgery, an additional lesion was found as a suspected fibroid and the left ovarian cyst was identified as pockets of peritoneal fluid which was sent for cytology. The surgical pathology report confirmed adenomyosis in both specimens, namely the right mass and the initially suspected fibroid.

CONCLUSION

In this case report, we showcase a rare occurrence of an extrauterine adenomyoma presenting two years post laparoscopic morcellation at hysterectomy. This poses questions regarding the benefits versus risks of power morcellation in laparoscopic hysterectomy.

Port site parasitic leiomyoma after laparoscopic myomectomy: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Uterine fibroids are the commonest benign gynecological tumors. Laparoscopic myomectomy is becoming increasingly popular as one of the surgical treatment options for symptomatic cases. Large tissues such as leiomyomas or even the uterus need to be morcellated in order to be retrieved from the abdominal cavity. Some of the morcellated fragments or small fibroids may be accidentally left in the abdominal cavity during the retrieval process. These may subsequently become implanted in the abdominal cavity, develop blood supply from the surrounding structures, and grow to form parasitic myomas with varied clinical presentation, depending on the location and size.

Case presentation

A 47-year-old African woman presented to our hospital 6 years after laparoscopic myomectomy with a lower abdominal mass. Her work-up revealed an anterior abdominal wall mass consistent with uterine leiomyoma. She was scheduled for excision of the mass, which was subsequently histologically confirmed to be a uterine fibroid.

Conclusions

Parasitic leiomyomas are a rare late complication of power morcellation following laparoscopic myomectomy or hysterectomy. Most patients present with an abdominal/pelvic mass and may need surgical excision to relieve the symptoms. Care should be taken during power morcellation to prevent excessive fragmentation of the tissues, some of which may become implanted and persist to form parasitic myomas. Moreover, effort should be made to retrieve all myoma fragments by carefully checking the abdominal cavity. Whenever possible, the morcellation should be done in a containment bag.

Parasitic myoma after laparoscopic surgery: a mini-review

The aim of this review is to summarize the cases of parasitic myomas after laparoscopic surgery. A literature search was performed using the PubMed database for the period of January 1997 to December 2014. We used the following keywords: "laparoscopic hysterectomy," "laparoscopic myomectomy," "morcellation," "parasitic fibroids," "parasitic myomas," and "leiomyomatosis." A total of 29 articles meeting the selection criteria were included in our review, describing 53 patients who underwent surgery for parasitic myomas. Parasitic myoma is a rare condition resulting from the small fibroid fragments left after morcellation and can be either asymptomatic or symptomatic. Although it is rare, patients should be informed about the risk of this condition after laparoscopic surgery. It is important for surgeons to look for small fibroid fragments during and after morcellation and make an effort to remove every piece of tissue.