2.1 Data sources and search strategy
The study protocol for this systematic review was registered in advance on PROSPERO (registration No. CRD42022342170). We performed an extensive electronic database search in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WANFANG Database and the Cochrane Library databases to identify research articles published between January 2010 and July 2022 that examined the effect of surgical excision versus HIFU ablation in reproductive age women. The search terms were used as free text and MeSH expressions as follows: (high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation OR HIFU OR ablation) AND (abdominal wall endometriosis OR caesarean scar endometriosis OR AWE) AND (excision OR surgery OR resection).