Diagnosing endometriosis

There is no simple test that can be used to diagnose endometriosis. In fact, the only reliable way to definitively diagnose endometriosis is by performing a laparoscopy and to take a biopsy of the tissue. This is what is known as "the golden standard".

However, this is an expensive, invasive proceduce. Furthermore, if the surgeon is not a specialist in endometriosis s/he may not recognise the disease, which can result in a "negative" diagnosis.

In addition, the woman/girl may not want to have surgery.

This makes diagnosis a challenge, and therefore an experienced gynaecologist should be able to recognise symptoms suggestive of endometriosis through talking with the woman/girl and obtain a history of her symptoms. For this to be effective, it is important that the woman/girl is honest with her physician about all of her symptoms and the pattern of these.

To aid her in preparation for this consultation she can consult the questionnaire, your first consultation, which will help her in preparing for the questions her doctor may ask her - and, in turn, help him/her in determining whether her symptoms may be due to endometriosis (not all pelvic pain, nor fertility issues, are caused by endometriosis).

There are other tests, which the gynaecologist may perform. These include ultrasound, MRI scans, and gynaecological examinations. None of these can definitively confirm endometriosis (though they can be suggestive of the disease), nor can they definitively dismiss the presence of endometriotic lesions/cysts.

The fact that there is no non-invasive, definitive diagnostic method for endometriosis is as frustrating for clinicians as it is for women with the disease.