Ambulatory hysteroscopy: evidence-based guide to diagnosis and therapy

Healthcare providers are facing increasing demands for improvement in quality of life for patients. Improvements in service provision for women are being ensured by the introduction of minimally invasive technologies into all spheres of gynaecologic practice. Ambulatory hysteroscopy (direct endoscopic visualization of the endometrial cavity) is an extremely exciting and rapidly advancing field of gynaecologic practice. It advanced dramatically during the 1990s, shifting the focus in healthcare away from inpatient diagnosis and treatment. Hysteroscopy is used extensively in the evaluation of common gynaecological problems that were previously evaluated with blind and inaccurate techniques (e.g. premenopausal menstrual disorders, infertility and postmenopausal bleeding). It allows direct visualization of the uterine cavity and the opportunity for targeted biopsy, safe removal of endometrial polyps, and treatment of submucous fibroids, septa and adhesions. Ambulatory hysteroscopy is safe, with a low incidence of serious complications; it has a small failure rate. There is a general consensus that hysteroscopy is the current gold standard for evaluating intrauterine pathology, including submucous myomas, polyps, hyperplasia and cancer. Hysteroscopy in the ambulatory setting appears to have an accuracy and patient acceptability equivalent to inpatient hysteroscopy under general anaesthetic. The primary goal of this chapter is to provide a high-quality, evidence-based text on ambulatory diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy. The chapter includes in-depth analysis of the indications for outpatient hysteroscopy, its contraindications, the accuracy of diagnostic hysteroscopy, relevant risk management issues and, training and teaching.