Long term follow-up of patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome after laparoscopic ovarian drilling: clinical outcome

Currently, there is an uncertainty about the impact of laparoscopic ovarian drilling (LOD) on the natural history of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This longitudinal follow-up study was undertaken to investigate the long-term effects of LOD.

The study included 116 anovulatory PCOS women who underwent LOD between 1991 and 1999 (study group) and 34 anovulatory PCOS women diagnosed during the same period but who had not undergone LOD (comparison group). The hospital records were reviewed and questionnaires were sent to all the women. In addition, most women attended a follow-up interview. Clinical data recorded at different intervals of follow-up (short-term, <1 year; medium-term, 1-3 years; and long-term, 4-9 years) included: the menstrual pattern, symptoms relating to hyperandrogenaemia and reproductive history.

The proportion of women with regular menstrual cycles increased significantly [relative risk (RR) = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.4-1.9, P < 0.05] from 8% before LOD to 67% post-operatively. The proportion dropped to 37% (RR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.8-3.8, P < 0.01) at medium-term follow-up and then increased again to 55% (RR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.7-2.8, P < 0.01) at long-term follow-up. After LOD, 54/110 women (49%) conceived spontaneously during the first year and 42 (38%) during medium- and long-term follow-up. Among women with hirsutism (n = 43) and acne (n = 25), 10 (23%) and 10 (40%) respectively experienced long-term improvement after LOD.

LOD produces long-term improvement in menstrual regularity and reproductive performance in about one-third of cases. A modest and sustained improvement in acne and hirsutism can be expected in approximately 40 and approximately 25% of patients respectively.