Pulmonary endometriosis : conservative treatment with GnRH agonists

The lung is an infrequent location of extragenital endometriosis, an exceptional cause of hemoptysis or pneumothorax. Adequate management has not yet been well established. We present two cases of pulmonary endometriosis, parenchymal and pleural. The presenting symptoms were catamenial hemoptysis and pneumothorax, respectively, which were treated with GnRH analogues. The first patient received Buserelin (900 micrograms/day intranasally) for 6 months. After 15 months of normal menstrual activity, the symptoms reappeared. The patient was then treated with Triptorelin (3.75 mg/month intramuscularly) for 6 months and remains asymptomatic and menstruating 14 months after discontinuing treatment. The patient presenting with pneumothorax was treated with leuprolide (1 mg/day subcutaneously) for 6 months and is asymptomatic 1 year after stopping treatment. These results suggest that GnRH analogues may be an acceptable alternative to danazol in the medical management of pulmonary endometriosis.