Gathered here are a collection of incisive articles, created for women, to focus on subjects relating to women's physical and emotional health and well-being. Topics under gynecologic conditions include causes, diagnosis, symptoms and possible treatment options of various issues in gynecologic health. Topics under the treatment category include a description of techniques and procedures in treatment options of gynecologic conditions.
It is our hope that this section may serve as a resource, helping you to be an informed partner in your own healthcare. The information is not intended for diagnostic or therapeutic treatment. While the information has been carefully reviewed, it is not intended to take the place of a discussion with your physician. The AAGL encourages you to contact your own physician for the appropriate care and treatment of your health.
The development of this patient education was supported by unrestricted educational grants by the healthcare companies listed below. We appreciate their support in allowing the AAGL to continue its mission to educate you about the quality healthcare options that are available.
American Medical Systems
Boston Scientific
Conceptus
Ethicon Endo-Surgery
Ethicon Women's Health & Urology
Intuitive Surgical
Karl Storz Endoscopy, America
Uterine polyps are small, benign protrusions of tissue that grow on the uterine lining ( endometrium). They are overgrowths of the same kind of cells as the lining itself and may appear as finger-like projections or little mushrooms. As they grow, they become fragile and bleed, and as such, they are a common cause of abnormal uterine bleeding.
Uterine polyps are usually diagnosed using an instrument called a hysteroscope, a slender telescopic device that provides the physician a magnified view of the uterine cavity, but can also be diagnosed with a sonogram.
Occasionally a polyp may grow on or through the cervix and cause irritation and irregular bleeding. This type of polyp can be seen during a pelvic examination when the doctor examines the cervix through a speculum.
Are polyps a sign of precancer?
In other tissues, such as the colon, polyps have long been considered an "early warning sign" of cancer; in contrast, uterine polyps have been thought to be generally benign. However, with the increased use of pelvic sonograms, more polyps are now being detected, and a recent study found that the rate of polyps with abnormal cells was nearly 16% among women who opted to have them removed. In 2% of the women, endometrial cancer was found. The authors of the study recommend that women with polyps should be encouraged to have them removed, given the high rate of abnormal pathology and the relative ease of treatment.
Treatment options
Removal of polyps, called polypectomy, can be done under a local anesthetic in an outpatient setting. Polyps can also be removed by operative hysteroscopy.
References
American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Pelvic Pain: A Guide for Patients. Patient Information Series 1997. www.asrm.org/patients/patientbooklets/pelvicpain.pdf.
Dolloff A, et al. Endometrial polyps and risk of hyperplasia and neoplasia. J Minimally Invasive Gynecol. 2006;13(5):S75-76.
Parker WH. A Gynecologist's Second Opinion. (c)2003; A Plume Book; Published by the Penguin Group, New York, NY.
Munro M. Abnormal uterine bleeding in the productive years. Part I: Pathogenesis and clinical investigation. J Am Assoc Gynecologic Laparoscopists. 1999;6:393-416.
