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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffThe main complication of endometriosis is impaired fertility. Approximately one-third to one-half of women who have endometriosis have difficulty getting pregnant.
For pregnancy to occur, an egg must be released from an ovary, travel through the neighboring fallopian tube, become fertilized by a sperm cell and attach itself to the uterine wall to begin development. Endometriosis may obstruct the tube and keep the egg and sperm from uniting, but the condition also seems to affect fertility in less-direct ways.
Even so, many women with mild to moderate endometriosis are still able to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term. Doctors sometimes advise women with endometriosis not to delay having children because the condition may worsen with time. The longer you have endometriosis, the greater your chance of becoming infertile.
- Endometriosis. The National Women's Health Information Center. http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/endometriosis.cfm. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Schenken RS. Pathogenesis, clinical features, and diagnosis of endometriosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Endometriosis. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp013.cfm. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Kokakoc E, et al. Endometriosis. Ultrasound Clinics. 2008;3:399.
- Kim WJ, et al. Endometriosis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00014-7--s1670&uniq=211843402&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6#lpState=open&lpTab=contentsTab&content=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..00014-7--s1670%3Bfrom%3Dtoc%3Btype%3DbookPage%3Bisbn%3D978-0-323-05610-6. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Schenken RS. Overview of the treatment of endometriosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed July 27, 2010.
- Boyle KJ, et al. Benign gynecologic conditions. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2008;88:245.
- Templeman C. Adolescent endometriosis. Obstetrics & Gynecology Clinics of North America. 2009; 36:177.
- Amer S. Endometriosis. Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine 2008;18:126.
- Gallenberg M (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. July 29, 2010.
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