Percutaneous catheter drainage of tubo-ovarian abscesses

We present the successful treatment of tubo-ovarian abscesses in three young patients by continuous percutaneous drainage, inserted under the guidance of real-time ultrasonography using only local anesthesia. Each patient had been diagnosed laparoscopically as suffering from acute pelvic inflammatory disease, but had formed abscesses despite extensive broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. One case involved a complication of the ovum pick-up procedure; the woman had tubo-ovarian abscesses with infected hematomas. Because the abscesses were localized anteriorly in the lower abdomen and did not reach the pouch of Douglas, they could not be drained through a posterior colpotomy. Ultrasound guidance allowed us to drain all the areas of the multiloculated abscesses. We suggest that percutaneous abscess drainage be the initial treatment of choice for tubo-ovarian abscesses before laparotomy is considered.