COLPOSCOPY
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| Colposcopy is a procedure during which the surface of the cervix is closely examined using a magnifying instrument called a colposcope. This examination is a gynecological procedure that illuminates and magnifies the vagina walls and uterine cervix in order to detect and examine abnormalities of these structures. |
| Colposcopy is usually done in one of two circumstances: To examine the cervix either when the result of a pap test is abnormal, or when the cervix looks abnormal during the collection of a pap smear. Even if a pap smear result is normal, colposcopy is ordered when the cervix appears visibly abnormal to the clinical performing the pap smear. |
| The purpose of the colposcopy is to determine what is causing the abnormal looking cervix or the abnormal pap smear so that appropriate treatment can be given. During a colposcopy you lie down in a special type of chair which has padded supports to rest your legs on. A device called a speculum is gently inserted into your vagina and opened to allow your colposcopist to see your cervix (the same as you have a cervical smear test). Your cervix is examined with a colposcope, an instrument with a light and magnifying lens that stays outside your body and allows your colposcopist to see any abnormalities. If your doctor can view the entire abnormal area through the colposcope, a tissue sample of biopsy is taken from the whitest abnormal areas and sent to the lab for further evaluation. |