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By Mayo Clinic staffIf your doctor suspects that you have uterine polyps, he or she might perform one of the following tests or procedures:
- Transvaginal ultrasound. A slender, wand-like device placed in your vagina sends out sound waves and creates an image of your uterus, including its interior. A related procedure, known as hysterosonography, involves having salt water (saline) injected into your uterus through a small tube (catheter) threaded through your vagina and cervix. The saline expands your uterine cavity, which gives the doctor a clearer view of the inside of your uterus.
- Hysteroscopy. Doctors may perform a procedure called hysteroscopy to diagnose and treat uterine polyps. In a hysteroscopy, your doctor inserts a thin, flexible, lighted telescope (hysteroscope) through your vagina and cervix into your uterus. Hysteroscopy allows your doctor to examine the inside of your uterus and remove any polyps that are found. This eliminates the need for a follow-up procedure.
- Curettage. Your doctor uses a long metal instrument with a loop on the end (curet) to scrape the walls of your uterus. This may be done to collect a specimen for laboratory testing (biopsy) or to remove a polyp. Curettage may be performed on its own (blind curettage) or with the guidance of a hysteroscope.
Most uterine polyps are noncancerous (benign). However, some precancerous changes of the uterus (endometrial hyperplasia) or uterine cancers (endometrial carcinoma) appear as uterine polyps. Your doctor may send a tissue sample for laboratory analysis to be certain you don't have uterine cancer.