Endometriosis is not confined to the pelvis. Endometriosis lesions have been found in multiple other areas in the body, including some strange places- like the nasal passage or the stomach wall (Mignemi et al., 2012; Mohamed et al., 2016). Andres et al. (2020) performed a systematic review of case studies of extrapelvic endometriosis and they found case reports of: 273 abdomen, 628 thoracic, 6 central nerve system, 12 extrapelvic muscle or nerve, and 1 nasal endometriosis. While this is not a comprehensive list of all the places endometriosis has been found, it does show that it can be found in many different places outside of the pelvis.
With abdominal endometriosis, if symptoms were noted, they “included a palpable mass (99%), cyclic pain (71%) and cyclic bleeding (48%)” (Andres et al., 2020). For thoracic endometriosis, symptoms included pain associated with menses, collapsed lung (pneumothorax), and blood in the sputum (hemoptysis) (Andres et al., 2020). The lesions in the thoracic cavity “favored the right side (80%)” (Andres et al., 2020). Symptoms can often be subtle and can be associated with other pathologies that may need to be ruled out as well.
For more information:
- Locations of endometriosis: https://icarebetter.com/locations-of-endometriosis/
- Weird places endometriosis has been found: https://icarebetter.com/weird-places-endometriosis-has-been-found/
- Symptoms based on location of endometriosis: https://icarebetter.com/symptoms-based-on-endometriosis-locations/
- Thoracic endometriosis: https://icarebetter.com/thoracic-endometriosis/
- Urinary system: https://icarebetter.com/urinary-system-bladder-ureters-and-kidney/
- Bowel/GI endometriosis: https://icarebetter.com/bowel-gi-endometriosis/
References
Andres, M. P., Arcoverde, F. V., Souza, C. C., Fernandes, L. F. C., Abrão, M. S., & Kho, R. M. (2020). Extrapelvic endometriosis: a systematic review. Journal of minimally invasive gynecology, 27(2), 373-389. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1553465019312567
Mignemi, G., Facchini, C., Raimondo, D., Montanari, G., Ferrini, G., & Seracchioli, R. (2012). A case report of nasal endometriosis in a patient affected by Behcet’s disease. Journal of minimally invasive gynecology, 19(4), 514-516. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1553465012001082
Mohamed, A. A., Selim, Y. A., Arif, M. A., & Albroumi, S. A. (2016). Gastric wall endometriosis in a postmenopausal woman. The Egyptian Journal of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, 47(4), 1783-1786. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrnm.2016.08.005
comments are closed .