Office Microlaparoscopy in Patients with Chronic Pelvic Pain - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

SUMMARY Purpose: to study the usefulness of minilaparoscopy in diagnosing the cause of pelvic pain. Methods: women with pelvic pain were prospectively analyzed and underwent an office video-microlaparoscopy. We analyzed the data regarding procedure time, stay in the recovery room, acceptance of anesthesia, and morbidity. Results: the average procedure time of the office video-microlaparoscopy was 19 min, the average stay for recovery was 43 min, and the technical quality of the image was excellent or good in 100% of the selected patients. The following laparoscopic findings were reported: 34.4% endometriosis, 28.1% pelvic adhesion, 12.5% pelvic varices, and 25% normal. Based on Bordhal et al.’s¹ criteria, a low frequency of pain manifestation during local anesthesia (12.5%) and discomfort on pneumoperitoneum (46.9%) were noticed. It could also be observed that, according to Milki and Tazuke’s² criteria, the tolerance to the method was excellent and good (96.9%). Twenty-four hours after the procedure the morbidity rate was in accordance with Chung et al.’s³ criteria, showing a high frequency of pain at the incision area (59.4%) and sleepiness (43.8%). Only 3.1% reported they felt pain during the procedure, which shows the acceptance of the method by the patients. Conclusions: the acceptance of anesthesia and of the surgical procedure and the low morbidity allow the use of minilaparoscopy as a very important method in investigating patients with pelvic pain.