Hysteroscopy

Hysteroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure that uses a camera and a light on a thin, flexible tube (called a hysteroscope) to examine the uterus and the cervix. Hysteroscopy can be used in diagnosis or as part of surgery. Diagnostic hysteroscopy is typically performed in a doctor’s office. If diagnostic hysteroscopy produces abnormal findings, an operative hysteroscopy can often be performed at the same time, removing abnormal growths or tissues using tiny instruments inserted through the hysteroscope.

Hysteroscopy can be used to help treat uterine polyps or fibroids, Asherman’s Syndrome (also known as uterine adhesions), malformations like uterine septum, and abnormal bleeding, as well as to help determine the cause of infertility.

Hysteroscopy can be performed in the doctor’s office or the hospital, depending on the purpose of the procedure, the level of anesthesia you will be given, and if other procedures will be performed at the same time. An overnight inpatient stay is usually not required, even for procedures performed in the hospital. Patients who receive a hysteroscopy typically recover faster and require less pain medication after surgery than patients who undergo a more invasive procedure.

Before the hysteroscopy, you will be given some kind of anesthesia: local, regional, or general, depending on the complexity of your procedure. The doctor dilates the cervix to place the hysteroscope, then uses a liquid solution or gas to clear and expand the uterus. Upon examining the uterus and openings of the fallopian tubes, if surgery is required, the doctor will insert the surgical instruments through the hysteroscope. Hysteroscopy can last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour or more, depending on findings.