Laparoscopic Drainage Of Complex Pelvic Abscesses

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the safety and clinical outcomes of laparoscopic drainage for severe pelvic abscess.STUDY DESIGN: The study included 30 patients with severe pelvic abscesses treat- ed by laparoscopic drainage between January 2012 and January 2015 in the Department of Gynecology, the Second People's Hospital of Changzhou.RESULTS: The patients' mean age was 35 +/- 4.3 years. The mean size of their pelvic abscesses was 7.8 +/- 2.3 cm. All 30 patients experienced antibiotic treatment failure, 15 patients (50%) suffered ruptured abscess spontaneously, 3 patients (10%) were suffering from toxic shock syndrome, and 6 patients (20%) had experienced attempted drainage failure. The mean bleeding volume during the operation was 50.8 +/- 23.6 mL, the average operating time was 65 +/- 23.8 min, and the mean hospitalization time was 8 +/- 2.2 days. All of the patients were completed successfully without conversion to laparotomy. Two years after the operation, 8/30 (26.7%) patients had chronic pelvic pain, 4/30 (13.3%) were struggling with infertility, and 2/30 (6.67%) had experienced a subsequent ectopic pregnancy.CONCLUSION: Our study shows that laparoscopic drainage is safe with good efficacy for complex pelvic and abdominal abscesses.