Abstract: Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system(LNG-IUS) in the treatment of endometriosisassociated pain after conservative surgery.Methods We recruited 36 women with recurrent endometriosis-associated pain after conservative surgery.All women were inserted LNG-IUS into their uterine cavity within 7 d of their periods and maintained for 12 months.We compared the mean visual analogue scale(VAS) scores of their dysmenorrhea,chronic pelvic pain(CPP) and deep dyspareunia on baseline and 12-month follow-up. Results Thirty-three women completed the study.Baseline and 12-month follow-up,mean VAS scores of dysmenorrhea and deep dyspareunia dropped very significantly,respectively,from 66.5±21.8 to 8.3±2.9 and from 64.0±17.4 to 12.0±4.9;those of chronic pelvic pain dropped significantly,from 66.2±24.3 to 26.7±21.6.There are 21.2% of the subjects with irregular uterine bleeding,33.4% of those with weight gain and 21.2% of those with ovarian cyst formation.Overall 52.8% of subjects were very satisfied or satisfied with the treatment after one year.Conclusion Insertion of a LNG-IUS alleviates endometriosis-associated pain remarkably,but irregular uterine bleeding and weight gain are the main side effects.

Key words: endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system