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The stage of a disease means how far it has spread. There are four stages of endometriosis:¹

• Stage I (very mild endometriosis)
• Stage II (mild endometriosis)
• Stage III (moderate endometriosis)
• Stage IV (severe endometriosis).

To find out what stage disease you have, you would need to have a laparoscopy. This is a kind of surgery. See More about laparoscopy.

A surgeon will look at:

• Where your endometriosis is
• How big the patches are
• How deep they go
• How stuck together nearby organs are.

For each of these questions, the surgeons will give a number. The higher the total number, the higher the stage of your disease. If your score is more than 40, you have severe endometriosis (stage IV).

The stage of your disease has nothing to do with your symptoms.

It's possible to have bad pain with stage I (minimal) disease. Also, staging doesn't tell you:²

• How well a treatment will work
• What sort of treatment you need
• The chances of endometriosis coming back after treatment.

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved.