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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staff
If 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 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. During curettage, your doctor uses a long metal instrument with a loop on the end to scrape the inside walls of your uterus. This may be done to collect a specimen for laboratory testing or to remove a polyp. Your doctor may perform curettage with the assistance of a hysteroscope, which allows your doctor to view the inside of your uterus before and after the procedure. When performed on its own without the aid of a hysteroscope, the procedure is known as blind curettage.
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.
- Ellenson LH, et al. The female genital tract. In: Kumar V, et al. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/191233107-3/0/2060/258.html?tocnode=57531643&fromURL=258.html. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Drinville JS, et al. Benign disorders of the uterine corpus. In: DeCherney AH, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment Obstetrics & Gynecology. 10th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2389400. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Stewart EA. Endometrial polyps. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 24, 2010.
- Hoffman BL. Abnormal uterine bleeding. In: Schorge JO, et al. Williams Gynecology. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=3153117. Accessed March 29, 2010.
- Hillard Adams PJ. Benign diseases of the female reproductive tract. In: Berek JS. Berek & Novak's Gynecology. 14th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007:431.
- Sonohysterography. Radiological Society of North America. http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=hysterosono. Accessed March 25, 2010.
- Perez-Medina T, et al. Endometrial polyps and their implication in the pregnancy rates of patients undergoing intrauterine insemination: A prospective, randomized study. Human Reproduction. 2005;20:1632.
- Stamatellos I, et al. Pregnancy rates after hysteroscopic polypectomy depending on the size or number of the polyps. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2008;277:395.
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