Women should be aware of their health, a regular check up to their obstetrician should
be done regularly. One of the test that requested by an obstetrician is colposcopy. A Colposcopy is a test that uses an instrument called a Colpomicroscope to view at the cervix to magnify a certain structure. The doctor uses a speculum that is inserted in the vagina so that he can look through inside it with the use of Colpomicroscope that magnifies the cervix, vagina and external genitalia. The magnification of a microscope helps to see the unusual areas to have accurate biopsies. The sample tissue is taken in the laboratory to view under a microscope. To make sure that there are no abnormal cell where past, scraping is done inside the cervical canal and sent it to the laboratory to have a further examination under a colpomicroscope. A Colposcopy test is done when the doctor sees abnormal cells during Pap smear.

To prepare for Colposcopy. Let the patient relax. Take 500-1000 mg of ibuprofen or pain reliever one hour before leaving for your doctor’s clinic. Make sure your period will not start or about to start in two weeks. Avoid using spermicides, tampons and vaginal medication 24-48 hours before the procedure. Lastly, sexual intercourse is prohibited 24-48 hours before the procedure to avoid inaccuracy of the tests.

To start the procedure, patient will lie down on the examining table just like having a pelvic exam. The colposcope is placed at the vaginal opening but not inserted inside the vagina to examine the genital area, vagina and cervix. The speculum is inserted to the vagina to separate the walls of vagina like in pap smear. The speculum will stay until the procedure is done. During the insertion of the speculum the vaginal area is check and speculum is carefully inserted through rotated movement to have a full view of vagina. Then the speculum is positioned so that the cervix is entirely been seen. Another pap smear is done to make sure cells coming from Transformation Zone are included. Then the cervix is examined under Colpomicroscope in 2-3 different magnifications. A Colpomicroscope has an articulating arm for better positioning.

Some excess secretion will be cleaned from the cervix using a large cotton swab. Acetic acid is applied and by now you can feel a cool sensation but may be tingle a little bit. This solution is applied to make abnormal cells more visible. After 5 minutes the effect of acetic acid will fade and your doctor will apply again the acetic acid solution a number of times. After the application of acetic acid the area will appear white and this is called aceto-white epithelium. This white epithelium may sometimes relate with dysplasia. At the end of the procedure your doctor will biopsies and view again under a colpomicroscope the area to check if there are changes.

The risk of having a severe complication is very slight. The following complications that may occur are the following: intense bleeding (more bleeding than you menstrual period), fever due to infection and pelvic and abdominal pain.

After your procedure, you will go back to you doctor to talk about the result of your colposcopy test and if any abnormal finding were found. Your doctor will recommend or discuss alternative treatment.Read more