Wedge Resection for Polycystic Ovaries

Abstract

IN 1935 Stein and Leventhal¹ reported 7 cases of amenorrhea associated with polycystic ovaries. In addition 4 of their patients complained of hirsutism, and 3 were obese. After wedge resection of the ovaries, normal menses reappeared in all 7 patients, 5 of whom eventually conceived. The amenorrhea and the polycystic ovaries were thought to be due to an imbalance of the pituitary-ovarian axis. The combination has become known as the Stein–Leventhal syndrome.Secondary amenorrhea as the main clinical symptom of this syndrome was emphasized by Leventhal and Cohen² in 1951, when they stated that wedge resection was not indicated unless . . .