Hysteroscopy Service

What we do

A hysteroscopy is a procedure used to examine the inside of the womb (uterus).

It’s carried out using a hysteroscope, which is a narrow telescope with a light and camera at the end. Images are sent to a monitor so your doctor or specialist nurse can see inside your womb.

The hysteroscope is passed into your womb through your vagina and cervix (entrance to the womb), which means no cuts need to be made in your skin.

A hysteroscopy can be used to:

  • Make an assessment following postmenopausal bleeding – most women have a vaginal ultrasound scan on the day of the appointment. This means a small probe is inserted into the vagina which looks at the ovaries, uterus (womb), womb lining and the kidneys. If your womb lining is thicker than 4mm, then we would recommend you have a hysteroscopy that day and a sample of the womb lining would be taken.
  • Diagnose and manage women with heavy or irregular periods
  • Novasure endometrial ablation for management of heavy periods
  • Diagnose and manage women found or suspected to have womb polyps or thickened lining, fibroids or scar tissue within the womb cavity which may have been found during an ultrasound scan
  • Support outpatient treatment of small fibroids (benign growths of the smooth muscle layer of the womb which may be seen inside the cavity of the womb)
  • Insert a Mirena coil for the treatment of heavy periods
  • Investigate fertility problems or recurrent miscarriage
  • Manage endometrial hyperplasia, a condition where the womb lining becomes abnormally thickened
  • Support the morcellation (removal) of retained products of conception.

If you are trying for a baby or having a coil removed, please abstain from sexual intercourse or use contraception from your last period until your hysteroscopy, as the test cannot be performed if there is any chance of pregnancy.

What to expect when you have been referred as an outpatient to Hysteroscopy

We advise patients to take simple painkillers, such as paracetamol or Ibuprofen, just before the procedure in order to prevent excessive discomfort. If you are very anxious about the procedure you could ask your GP to prescribe you Diazepam to take 1 ½ hours prior to your appointment to help you relax. The procedure itself takes only a few minutes. You will have a health care assistant to support you through the procedure, but you may also have a relative or friend with you whilst you have the procedure performed if you wish.

The doctor or nurse undertaking your hysteroscopy will usually try to perform the test using a very thin telescope which is inserted into the vagina and water is used to fill the vagina so that the cervix (neck of the womb) can be seen and then the telescope passed through the cervix and into the womb. This method makes the procedure as comfortable as possible.

If this approach is not possible then the doctor or nurse will use a speculum (the same instrument used during a smear test) to see your cervix (neck of the womb). Sometimes local anaesthetic is used to numb the area. Then a very thin telescope is passed into the womb.

The telescope is connected to a camera and T.V. screen, which shows the inside of the womb (you may choose whether you want to look). Water is used to give a clear view; you might feel this trickling out during the test. After this, a tiny piece of tissue will be taken from the womb lining (biopsy) and this will be sent to the laboratory. The hysteroscopy takes about 5 minutes. At some stages you may feel a period-like discomfort; many women feel nothing at all. Sometimes polyps (often simple skin tags) or small fibroids are found. It may be possible to remove small polyps/ fibroids during the test, if so; the hysteroscopy would last for about another 10 minutes.

Occasionally, the entrance into the womb is too tight even to allow the passage of the tiny telescope, and these women require hysteroscopy under a general anaesthetic, which can be booked at the same visit but will be performed at a later date.

A very small amount of women cannot tolerate the discomfort of outpatient hysteroscopy; in light of this all women are offered a choice at their outpatient or inpatient hysteroscopy of undergoing the procedure at a later date under general anaesthetic.

Also, at any point the patient can ask the doctor or nurse to stop the procedure and they will immediately do so.

We advise that, where possible, patients should have someone to pick them up following the appointment.

Meet the team

  • Dr Sandra Sasson: Lead Hysteroscopist and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
  • Mr Omotayo Bajulaiye: Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
  • Mr John Anderson: Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
  • Dr Sudeepthi Kakara: Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
  • Dr Hemalatha Dadi: Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist
  • Suzanne Taylor: Nurse Hysteroscopist
  • Mary Jackson: Nurse Hysteroscopist

Contact us

hysteroscopy clinic set upAt Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust we have hysteroscopy (camera examination of womb) services across two sites. We offer an outpatient hysteroscopy for women with heavy or irregular periods and other problems concerning the womb lining or cavity. We also investigate post-menopausal bleeding where there may be concern that endometrial cancer is the cause, if your GP suspects this you will be seen at the hospital within 14 days of your GP appointment.

You may be referred to either service which are located at:

The Women’s Health Unit, ward M2, Level 3, Women’s and Newborn’s unit, BD9 6RJ

To speak to a nurse on the Women’s Health Unit call 01274 362416.

To speak to a nurse at Westwood Park Community Hospital, Swift Drive, Bradford, BD6 3NL, call 01274 322547.

Please note: a hysteroscopy cannot be performed if you are bleeding heavily. Please ring the Central Patient Booking Service (CPBS) to change your appointment on 01274 274274.

For appointment queries/changes/cancellations, please contact the CPBS on 01274 274274.

Further information