Wedge Resection for Polycystic Ovaries

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 . . .