I was diagnosed with endosalpingiosis, and I haven't been able to find any information on this condition. My OB-GYN said there is nothing she can do for the pain, and that getting pregnant is the only way to "cure" the disease. Can you give me some insight into this disease, as well as how it will affect my chances of getting pregnant? Where I can I find more information on the subject?

P.D.

Endosalpingiosis is a condition in which tissue resembling that which lines the inside of the fallopian tubes is found in other areas. Most commonly, these other areas are the outside of the fallopian tubes, ovaries or uterus. Occasionally, endosalpingiosis may be found on the surface of the bowel or bladder, or deeper in the uterine wall. Endosalpingiosis is most often a microscopic diagnosis, meaning it is difficult to see with the naked eye. It may sometimes appear as tiny white or yellow fluid-filled cysts that make the involved surface look granular. This is a benign condition and does not appear to be associated with any chance of turning into cancer.

Endosalpingiosis generally is thought to cause no symptoms. Some women may have pelvic pain, but in many of these cases, endometriosis is found as well, and the endometriosis is believed to be the source of the pain. In one study of 51 women with pelvic pain, only six were found to have endosalpingiosis, and of those, four also had endometriosis.

If endosalpingiosis is responsible for pain, it may act much like endometriosis and respond to the same treatments as endometriosis. Endometriosis frequently responds to birth control pills, Depo-Provera or Lupron. It also tends to regress during pregnancy, but pregnancy is certainly not the only means of providing relief.

There is little evidence to suggest that endosalpingiosis would interfere with pregnancy. In a literature search, I could find only one case of endosalpingiosis associated with infertility -- and that women also had endometriosis -- a known cause of infertility.