Imaging Comparison for the Preoperative Planning and Diagnosis of DIE: a Multicenter Retrospective Study.

Several centers in Belgium use both transvaginal ultrasound (TVS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the preoperative diagnosis of deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE), while other centers rely almost exclusively on TVS. From the perspective of both the patient and the endometriosis care team, it is not primarily important that every individual lesion is mapped perfectly preoperatively, but rather that all lesions impacting clinical management and surgical planning are accurately detected. This is particularly crucial when a multidisciplinary approach is required, involving a urologist for bladder lesions and/or an abdominal surgeon for invasive rectosigmoid lesions. Moreover, providing the patient with thorough preoperative counseling is essential, and this is, of course, determined by the preoperative findings and the type of planned surgical procedure.

In this study, we first assess the diagnostic performance of TVS in the preoperative diagnosis of DIE. As a secondary objective, we evaluate the added value of MRI compared to TVS for preoperative surgical planning in patients who also underwent an MRI examination.