Surgical procedures for endometriosis – contacts per 1,000 women, 16–55 years
Discussion
The number of operations for endometriosis increased every year from 2015 to 2024, from 1,272 to 2,431 operations per year. This represents an increase of 91 per cent. There was then a slight decline. In 2025, around 100 fewer operations were performed than in the previous year.
There is considerable geographical variation in endometriosis surgery. In 2025, the catchment area with the highest rate had four times as many operations as the area with the lowest rate. The catchment area of Vestfold HF has consistently had a high rate throughout the period, with the highest rate from 2019 to 2024 and the second-highest rate in 2025. The catchment areas of Førde HF and Nord-Trøndelag HF have consistently had low rates throughout the period.
The proportion of surgeries involving hysterectomy has increased slightly but steadily over the period, from below 35 per cent in the early years to above 40 per cent in recent years. However, there is considerable variation between the different catchment areas. In 2025, the proportion was lowest in the catchment areas of Lovisenberg (15 per cent) and Diakonhjemmet (23 per cent), and highest in Østfold (66 per cent) and Telemark (56 per cent).
The number of surgeries performed at private hospitals has been low, averaging five operations per year over the period 2015 to 2025.
The analysis is based on activity data from the Norwegian Patient Register (NPR) for somatic specialist health services. The data includes activity in public hospitals and private hospitals that provide publicly funded services. Data from specialists under public funding contracts are not included, as this treatment is only provided in hospitals.
The sample consists of women aged 16-55 years registered with a primary or secondary diagnosis of N80, N941, N944, N945 or N946 in combination with one or more of the following procedure codes: LCD00, LCD30, LCD96, LCD10, LCD40, LCD01, LCD04, LCD11, LCD31, LCD97, LCC10, LCC11, LCC20, JAL21, JAL24, JAP00, JAP01, JAL20, JAL21, JAA10, JAA11, LAC00, LAC01, LAC10, LAC11, LAC20, LAC21, LCF00, LCF01, LAD00, LAD01, LAE10, LAE11, LAE20, LAE21, LAF00, LAF01, LAF10, LAF11, LAF20, LAF30, LBD00, LBD01, LBE00, LBE01, LCC00, LCC01, LCC05, LCC96, LCC97, LCF97 or LCF96.
Hysterectomy is defined by one or more of the following procedure codes: LCD00, LCD30, LCD96, LCD10, LCD40, LCD01, LCD04, LCD11, LCD31, LCD97, LCC10, LCC11, or LCC20, and the remaining procedure codes are defined as other interventions.
The place of treatment is divided into three categories:
- Local public, treated at one of the hospitals in the catchment area
- Other public, treated at a public hospital outside the catchment area
- Private, treated by a private hospital
In order to compare the catchment areas and between years, the rates have been adjusted for gender and age. The adjustment was done using the direct method with the population in 2023 as the reference population.
In graphs with patient‑aggregated data, the numbers are adjusted to avoid double‑counting patients. The actual number of patients is therefore higher when looking at a single variable for a focus area. For example, patients who have received both private and public treatment during a year are counted only once in total, which means that the number of patients in private treatment will be underreported.
SKDE is solely responsible for the interpretation and presentation of the data provided by NPR. FHI/NPR is not responsible for analyses or interpretations based on the data.