Incidental Abdominal Wall Endometriosis in Plastic Surgery: Two Cases and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Summary:. Endometriosis is a common cause of pain and infertility. Abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) is a form of extrapelvic endometriosis that can be encountered during abdominal surgery such as abdominoplasty or free flap harvest. We report two cases of AWE; one found intraoperatively in a 32-year-old woman desiring body contouring after undergoing cesarean section, and a second in a 36-year-old woman requiring resection and reconstruction of a left chondroid tenosynovial giant cell tumor of her temporomandibular joint. During free flap planning, she was found to have endometriosis of her right hemi-abdomen. Both patients underwent resection of their AWE and were referred to their obstetrics and gynecology physicians for consideration of menstrual suppression to decrease their risk of recurrence.