Factors affecting fertility following laparoscopic myomectomy

Objective: This study was performed to assess the factors affecting fertility following laparoscopic myomectomy (LM). Design: A retrospective review of 36 women who underwent LM between January 2003 and September 2008 was performed. Materials and Methods: Between patients who were able to become pregnant after LM and patients who were unable to do so, comparisions were made of age of the patients, gonadotrophin hormone-releasing analogues pretreatment, number and diameter of resected myomas, type of the largest resected myoma, operation time, amount of hemorrhage, and reaching the uterine cavity during the surgery. A Mann-Whitney U test or χ ² test was used to investigate differences between the two groups. Results: Of 36 women, 14 achieved postoperative pregnancy. Between the group of 14 patients who were able to become pregnant and the group of 22 patients who were unable to do so, there was significant difference in the mean age of the patients (mean± standard deviation, 31.9±4.0 vs. 35.6±3.4, p<0.05) and no significant difference in any other factors. Conclusions: In this study, age of the patient was the only factor correlated with fertility after LM.