Hysteroscopy - Painless procedure for fibroid detection

GYNOISSUES

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE All Woman writer husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com

Monday, February 06, 2012

ANN-MARIE S has been struggling with a bleeding problem for the last four months. Her period was nothing short of an annoyance; first coming for 11 days, up from the usual six, then the following month it flowed for 14, then 21 and more recently, one period catches the next.

After going to her gynaecologist, an ultrasound found that the excessive bleeding was caused from the growth of a fibroid.

Gynaecologist Dr Charles Rockhead of the Amadeo Medical Complex in Spanish Town and The Ripon Surgi-Centre in Cross Roads, decided to do a hysteroscopy to find more answers.

Hysteroscopy is a procedure that allows the doctor to look inside the uterus in order to diagnose and treat causes of abnormal bleeding. Hysteroscopy is done using a thin, lighted tube with a small camera at the end that is inserted into the vagina to examine the cervix and inside the uterus. This instrument is called a hysteroscope.

Ann-Marie said while she was somewhat reluctant to have the procedure done, she soon realised that it was completely painless and very accurate.

"I must admit that at first it seemed very embarrassing to know that someone would be poking around inside of me like that," she said. "Especially since I was still bleeding hard and it had to be done even then. I felt it would be way too embarrassing. But then I remembered something a friend said to me 'health before pride'; this forced me to allow the procedure without much hesitation."

Some 15 minutes later, the procedure was over.

The procedure itself takes place in the following order:

* The doctor dilates the cervix to allow the hysteroscope to be inserted.

* The hysteroscope is inserted through the vagina and cervix into the uterus.

* Gas or a liquid solution is then inserted into the uterus through the hysteroscope, to expand it and to clear away any blood or mucus.

* A light shone through the hysteroscope allows the doctor to see the uterus and the openings of the fallopian tubes into the uterine cavity.

The procedure is viewed on a television screen.

The time it takes to perform hysteroscopy can range from less than five minutes to more than an hour.

"You have a large fibroid the size of a fist and that is what is causing the bleeding," Dr Rockhead told Ann-Marie in his office afterwards. "You have the option of doing an operation which involves giving you a bikini cut and cutting out the fibroid or we can go in through a small incision and burn out the fibroid. But the fibroid is so big that we may not be able to burn it out in one go so we may have to go in twice."

He proceeded to show her images from the hysteroscopy on his computer from a CD that was made during the procedure and explained what she was looking at.

"Within less than an hour of having the procedure I was able to drive home," Ann-Marie told All Woman. "I have already made an appointment to have it removed," she said. "But the hysteroscopy is very good. The doctor showed me the image of what the size of the fibroid is, so even though I was asleep, I later saw what happened inside of me."

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Hysteroscopy - Painless procedure for fibroid detection