**15. Recurrence**

Endometriosis tends to recur unless definitive surgery is performed. The recurrence rate is about 5% to 20% per year, reaching a cumulative rate of 40% after 5 years. Liu and coworkers found an approximately 15-percent rate of recurrence at 2 years following initial surgery. Pain recurs within 5 years in about one in five patients with pelvic pain treated by complete laparoscopic excision of visible endometriotic lesions (132).
