'Slight Endom' its like what does that mean??
I think that is what they call minimal or stage 1 endometriosis. Have you had laproscopic surgery? I think it has to do with the number and severity of the lesions. Here is some info I found on www.tyocf.com about endometriosis and its stages.
STAGES OF ENDO:
There is a chart with descriptions at this link endo stages but i cannot get it to display in the post.
I did find this in an article on the webmd site: The Stages of Endometriosis
Endometriosis can vary in terms of severity. Like other diseases, it is categorized into four stages -- the higher the number, the more severe the endometriosis.
Stage I is when your endometriosis is minimal and still very thin and 'filmy,' hence easier to treat.
Stage II is mild endometriosis; the endometriosis is still on the thin side but is situated more deeply into your surrounding tissues.
Stage III is moderate endometriosis; here, your endometriosis is denser mixed with some Stage I or Stage II symptoms.
Stage IV means severe endometriosis. In this case, the endometriosis is dense and deep, a bad combination.
AND SOME MORE INFO...
Endometriosis 101
What are 'Stages?'
Your surgeon determines the extent and severity of your disease once confirmation of diagnosis is made through both sight of the lesions as well as biopsy results (7). Staging has been defined by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (formerly the American Fertility Society), with criteria based on the location of the disease, amount, depth and size. These factors are all graded on a point system and classification is thus determined. The first classification scheme was developed in 1973, but since then it has been revised and refined 3 times for a more precise method of documentation. As of 1985, the stages are classified as 1 though 4; minimal, mild, moderate, and severe. Stage of the disease is not indicative of level of pain, infertility or symptoms. A woman in Stage 4 can be asymptomatic, while a Stage 1 patient might be in debilitating pain.
Treatment for Endometriosisthis is info from the Georgia Reproductive Specialist....
Therapy for Mild Endometriosis (Stages I and II)
Treatments for mild forms of the disease are controversial. Some physicians feel that since adhesions may not form at this stage,it's better to take a wait-and-see approach (expectant therapy)rather than prescribing heavy doses of medication. Although most studies have found no proven benefit of surgical treatment for minimal endometriosis, more recent studies suggest increased pregnancy rates after completely excising all endometriosis. Therefore, as endometriosis progresses in up to 60% of women if untreated, aggressive surgical management at the time of discovery leads to the long term best results.
After excising all endometrial implants with the laparoscope, up to 75 percent of these women will become pregnant within twelve to eighteen months without additional medication. If no pregnancy occurs within six, the patient is older than 35 years of age or, has been attempting pregnancy for over two years, superovulation and intrauterine insemination is often successful.
For those with extensive inflammatory endometriosis, I recommend a short course of GnRH agonist followed immediately by more agressive therapy. However, for most patients with minimal or mild disease who have undergone complete surgical excision, the use of GnRH agonists or danocrine are not likely to improve pregnancy rates or prevent recurrences.
Therapy for Moderate and Severe Endometriosis (Stages III and IV)
Stages III and IV endometriosis, however, often cause thicker and broader-based adhesions than early endometriosis and often cause the ovary to stick to the pelvic sidewall. Frequently the wall of the large bowel or rectum are involved and a portion of the bowel will also need to be removed. Since the removal of these types of adhesions and endometriosis of the bowel and rectum require more care than removing the filmy ones associated with earlier stages of the disease, this type of surgery is best performed by a well skilled endometriosis team.
Prior to planning your surgery, I will have you consult with a bowel surgeon who may recommend a barium enema (x-ray) or an office procedure where the rectum and sigmoid colon are visualized with a flexible telescope. I will often recommend a GnRH agonist (Lupron, Synarel, Zoladex) prior to surgery to decrease inflammation. To safely perform bowel surgery it is necessary to perform a bowel prep a day or two before surgery (enemas, antibiotics and magnesium citrate or Golytely). But as I can never be sure when endometriosis of the bowel or rectum will be encountered and bowel surgery will become necessary, I order the bowel prep on all laparoscopy patients.
