The Sex Life of Women With Endometriosis Improve After Laparoscopic Surgery

Study shows laparoscopic surgery improves sexual self-efficacy and quality of life

Key Points

Highlights: 

• Laparoscopic surgery has a positive impact on the sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy of women with endometriosis and aids in overcoming dyspareunia-related sexual
  issues.

Importance:

• The impact of pain on an endometriosis patient`s daily life, particularly their sexual life, is significant.
• Reducing the lesion burden on the body might help these patients to feel less pain.

What's done here:

• This is a cross-sectional study aiming to assess the changes in sexual self-efficacy and sexual quality of life in endometriosis patients after laparoscopic surgery.
• Sexual self-efficacy questionnaire, the sexual quality of life-female questionnaire a questionnaire on demographic data were filled in by the patients undergoing laparoscopy for endometriosis.
• The severity of dyspareunia was assessed by the visual analog scale.
• The patients were all followed up for 3-6 months after the surgery.

Key results:

• Endometriosis surgery had a positive impact on women’s sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy.
• It also improved painful intercourse. 
• There was a statistically significant increase in Sexual self-efficacy and the sexual quality of life after surgery.
• Painful intercourse disappeared in 27,7% of the patients after the surgery and 75% reported no dyspareunia at the 6-month follow-up.

Limitations:

• The difficulty in finding and following up with participants after surgery, keeping track of the pathology results of the participants; the possibility of women not providing the correct information about their symptoms and
  sexual life because of cultural reasons is the most important limitation of the study.

Lay Summary

As one of the most common symptoms of endometriosis, dyspareunia affects the patient's quality of life in many aspects including sexual dysfunction and disorders. Among the treatment methods used in endometriosis, laparoscopic surgery is suggested to improve the symptoms of dyspareunia and the sexual quality of life.

A group of researchers from Tehran, Iran conducted a cross-sectional study that aimed to assess the changes in sexual quality of life and sexual self-efficacy in patients with endometriosis after they underwent laparoscopic procedures. The study was published in the July 2022 issue of the International Journal of Reproductive BioMedicine.

The authors included 36 women with endometriosis who were referred for a laparoscopy. The patients filled in a sexual self-efficacy questionnaire, the sexual quality of life-female questionnaire that included the themes of sexual psychology, sexual and marital satisfaction, self-worthlessness, and sexual repression, and a questionnaire on demographic data. The visual analog scale was used to assess the severity of dyspareunia. The patients were all followed up for 3-6 months after the surgery.
The increase in sexual self-efficacy and sexual quality of life after surgery was statistically significant. What is more, an inverse correlation was detected between these two parameters and endometriosis involvement. It was added that the sexual quality of life was affected badly in cases of high-grade, deep, or advanced endometriosis.

The rate of the patients who reported no dyspareunia after the surgery was 27,7%, whereas this rate went up to 75% at the 6-month follow-up. This indicates a positive effect of surgery on sexual quality of life. The authors state that the mean preoperative SSE was found to be 7,41 and 6 months after the surgery, it increased to 17.77 which proves the positive effect of surgery on SSE. They also mentioned the study where the results showed the higher the SSE, the easier it gets when solving sexual issues. 

The authors suggest adding psychosexual therapy to the course of treatment as a step to improve the outcomes.

Research Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35958961/