Endometriosis in adolescents.

Traditional gynecologic opinion holds that endometriosis is rare in teenagers. However, several reports of this disease in teenagers have appeared over the past four decades, and in one study of a series of endometriosis patients, teenagers accounted for 8.5% of them. With these facts in mind, 43 consecutive laparoscopies were prospectively analyzed in symptomatic teenagers. A 65% incidence of endometriosis was found. The symptoms and physical findings are analyzed. The liberal use of diagnostic laparoscopy in selected symptomatic adolescents is recommended for the early diagnosis and aggressive preventive treatment of this common and potentially crippling illness.