RESUMO
Deep pelvic endometriosis is an important gynecologic disorder that is responsible for severe pelvic pain and is defined as subperitoneal invasion that exceeds 5 mm in depth. Deep pelvic endometriosis can affect the retrocervical region, uterosacral ligaments, rectum, rectovaginal septum, vagina, urinary tract, and other extraperitoneal pelvic sites. It is commonly associated with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, pelvic pain, urinary tract symptoms, and infertility. Because surgery remains the best therapeutic option for affected patients, the accurate preoperative assessment of the extension of endometriotic disease is extremely important. Pelvic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is a noninvasive method with high spatial resolution that allows multiplanar evaluation of deep pelvic endometriosis and good tissue characterization, but without the use of ionizing radiation or iodinated contrast agents. MR imaging yields important findings that help grade the disease and identify subperitoneal lesion extension and other associated disease entities, thereby facilitating accurate diagnosis and adequate treatment. Radiologists should be familiar with the MR imaging findings of deep infiltrating endometriosis in various anatomic locations so that they can provide information that allows adequate presurgical counseling.
Assuntos
Endometriose/patologia , Aumento da Imagem/métodos , Imageamento por Ressonância Magnética/métodos , Pelve/patologia , Feminino , HumanosRESUMO
Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a powerful imaging technique in neuroimaging; its value in abdominal and pelvic imaging has only recently been appreciated as a result of improvements in magnetic resonance imaging technology. There is growing interest in the use of DWI for evaluating pathology in the pelvis. Its ability to noninvasively characterize tissues and to depict changes at a cellular level allows DWI to be an effective complement to conventional sequences of pelvic imaging, especially in oncologic patients. The addition of DWI may obviate contrast material in those with renal insufficiency or contrast material allergy.