Hysteroscopy
Hysteroscopy uses a thin lighted camera passed through the cervix to look directly inside the uterus. It can diagnose and treat in the same procedure.
When it is used
- To confirm and remove polyps
- To remove fibroids inside the uterine cavity
- To take targeted samples when a biopsy was not conclusive
- To evaluate a cesarean scar defect or other problems in the cavity
Office or operating room
Short diagnostic procedures and small polyp removals can often be done in an office with local anesthesia. Larger procedures are done in an outpatient surgery center with sedation or anesthesia. Most people go home the same day and return to normal activity within a day or two.
Sources
- AAGL Advancing Minimally Invasive Gynecology Worldwide. AAGL practice report: practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of endometrial polyps. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2012;19(1):3–10.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Practice Bulletin No. 128: Diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding in reproductive-aged women. Obstet Gynecol. 2012;120(1):197–206 (reaffirmed).