Physiotherapy in Urinary Dysfunction Post-Surgery for Endometriosis: Case Report

Abstract

Endometriosis is characterised by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity that responds to oestrogen and stimulates local inflammatory processes, adhesions, pelvic pain, and infertility. The treatment of endometriosis includes the use of medications and videolaparoscopy for excision of adhesions or lesions. Some complications are associated with the videolaparoscopy, such as vascular, intestinal, urinary, neurological, and more rarely, vulvar oedema, which makes the rehabilitation difficult in the immediate postoperative period. In relation to the urinary dysfunction and to the vulvar oedema, physiotherapy has resources with demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of such complications after videolaparoscopy; they can rehabilitate the patient and improve their quality of life in a short time. In this study, the authors report the case of a patient treated by the Physical Therapy Service of the Santa Casa de Misericórdia Hospital of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, with urinary retention and vulvar oedema after videolaparoscopy for endometriosis, which showed improvement in vulvar oedema with the application of physiotherapy.

Keywords

• endometriosis
• physical therapy
• urinary retention
• vulvar oedema