To assess bowel function in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis according to surgical approach (radical vs conservative).

Five databases were searched from 1970 to September 2021 to retrieve studies comparing radical (colorectal segmental resection) and conservative (shaving or discoid excision) surgery for bowel function in women with deep infiltrating endometriosis.

No language restriction was applied. Two reviewers extracted and combined data from the included studies, applying a meta-analytic model with random effects in all calculations. Results are expressed in risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). Assessment of risk of bias and quality of evidence was performed by the Newcastle-Ottawa and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation, respectively.

We included 13 studies in our meta-analysis, and most of them were of nonrandomized design. Conservative surgery had fewer events of constipation and frequent bowel movements when compared with radical surgery (RR, 2.31; 95% CI, 1.21–4.43; I2 = 0%; 3 studies; RR, 2.80; 95% CI 1.17–6.75; I2 = 0%; 2 studies, respectively). Defecation pain, anal incontinence loss, minor and major lower anterior resection syndrome, and Clavien-Dindo complications grade I to IV showed no statistically significant difference between surgeries. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation assessment was low to very low for all outcomes.

Conservative surgery (shaving or discoid excision) presented fewer events of constipation and frequent bowel movements than colorectal segmental resection. There was a very low quality of evidence to provide recommendations regarding bowel function.

Bowel function

Conservative surgery

Deep endometriosis

Meta-analysis

Radical surgery

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