Abstract

Endometriosis is not the rare disease it was thought to be in the past. Its diagnosis is not uncommonly difficult. The two papers which follow consider the clinical picture when endometriosis involves the lower bowel. Surgical management of this disease has undergone radical changes in recent years, and resection of the bowel is mandatory under certain circumstances. In any event, preoperative preparation of the bowel seems imperative, and the surgeon should be prepared to undertake partial or complete resections of the bowel with end-to-end anastomosis.