Materials and methods
endometriosis, ovarian endometrioma, ovarian, uterine, or tubal surgery history, malignant ovarian diseases, endocrine disease
ENDOMETRIOSIS, INFILTRATED, COMPLICATIONS, ENDOCRINE DISEASE
This prospective clinical study was approved by the board of Fujian provincial hospital ethics committee (2018ky0024) and registered under the clinical trial registry number (ChiCTR1800019766). All patients provided preoperative informed consent after being informed of potential risks and complications. All patients provided preoperative informed consent after being informed of potential risks and complications. In total, 88 patients with unilateral ovarian endometrioma were recruited into this prospective study at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Fujian provincial hospital from March 2019 to March 2021. After inclusion in the study, all patients were administered an oral contraceptive pill (OC, drospirenone, and ethinylestradiol) for one cycle to determine the timing of surgery. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) age 20–36 years; (2) regular menses; (3) clinical and ultrasonographic finding of unilateral ovarian endometrioma ≥ 4 cm and ≤ 10 cm the first time; (4) without pregnancy or plan to get pregnant in six months. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) any suspicious finding of malignant ovarian diseases; (2) ovarian, uterine, or tubal surgery history; (3) endocrine disease and treatment history; (4) long-term use of hormonal drugs for more than three months (e.g., gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs); (5) smokers. Patients with infiltrated endometriosis were excluded from this study based on transvaginal ultrasound and gynecological examination. Patients who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in the study were enrolled. The study objectives and steps were explained to all patients before enrollment. All experimental procedures were performed following the guidelines for the Declaration of Helsinki. Our study was conducted according to the CONSORT guidelines [