Hysteroscopy
Hysteroscopy is a procedure that can be used to both diagnose and treat causes of abnormal bleeding. The procedure allows your doctor to look inside your uterus with a tool called a hysteroscope. This is a thin, lighted tube that is inserted into the vagina to examine the cervix and inside of the uterus. Hysteroscopy can be a part of the diagnosis process or an operative procedure. Hysteroscopy can be used with other procedures, such as laparoscopy, or before procedures such as dilation and curettage (D&C). In laparoscopy, your doctor will insert an endoscope (a slender tube fitted with a fiber optic camera) into your abdomen to view the outside of your uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes. The endoscope is inserted through an incision made through or below your navel.
- Polyps and fibroids: Hysteroscopy is used to remove these non-cancerous growths found in the uterus.
- Septums: Hysteroscopy can help determine whether you have a uterine septum, a malformation (defect) of the uterus that is present from birth.
- Abnormal bleeding: Hysteroscopy can help identify the cause of heavy or lengthy menstrual flow, as well as bleeding between periods.
- Adhesions: uterine adhesions are bands of scar tissue that can form in the uterus and may lead to changes in menstrual flow as well as infertility.