Colorectal endometriosis. A proposal of complementary classification and surgical management in stages

Objective: To organize the experience and international knowledge in the surgical management and staging of colorectal endometriosis, with a management proposal in stages. Method: An extensive non-systematic review of the literature was carried to organize the disease in stages (limited, intermediate and advanced) according to a scoring system, which considers the characteristics of the endometrioma, the personal history and surgical findings. We tested the proposed staging in a retrospective group of patients. Results: From January 2017 to April 2023, we collected 19 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of colorectal endometriosis, treated laparoscopically, by the same group of surgeons, in whom we found a strong correlation between the stage of the disease and the presence of complications that required reinterventions. Conclusions: We suggest a sequence of colorectal surgical management in stages according to the staging of the disease and we hope that this work will be followed by joint efforts to test it prospectively in order to compare results between hospital centers and make planned decisions.