Yes, I know there is a debate among excision specialists about "microscopic" endo and whether that is actually a legitimate thing that could cause recurrence. Most of the specialists I've talked to think that if you have someone with the appropriate skill level, who can get it ALL out rather than leaving bits, you shouldn't have recurrence. There is still so much we don't know about this disease... for example, if you have endometriomas there is a higher chance of recurrence, as they can rise from the body of the ovary even after one has been excised, because obviously they aren't going to dig around and destroy a healthy ovary just to make sure there isn't an incipient endometrioma lurking in there...it's also sometimes impossible to remove it all due to location on organs etc. so it is really case dependent. I just wanted to put that out there because I keep encountering (non expert) docs who say the recurrence rate is 80 percent--but they are basing that off of ablation and not excision, and I feel that it unnecessarily discourages women from seeking better care. There is room for reasonable people to disagree since even the excision experts don't agree on everything--I just hope that people won't resign themselves to a lifetime of pain, when there is potentially a long term solution out there for many people. *getting off soapbox now* :-)

Hysterectomies do not remove endo, unless you had excision surgery at the same time it is likely disease is still present.

With expert excision the recurrence rate is quoted at less than 15 percent, but it varies by surgeon and severity of disease. You might want to follow "Arrington CEC" on Facebook, he specifically addresses this topic in a post from July 30, and posts a lot of good info along these lines. Hysterectomy alone does not cure endo but may provide some relief from symptoms.