A colposcopy is a noninvasive, pain-free procedure performed in the office to examine your cervix and vagina. The doctors at Dr. Javid OB/GYN have years of experience performing colposcopies, accurately identifying abnormal tissues, and developing a customized treatment to heal the problem. If you have any questions about your gynecologic health or you need to schedule an exam, use the online booking feature or call one of the offices in San Jose or Los Gatos.
Colposcopy Q & A
What is a Colposcopy and When Do I Need One?
A colposcopy is an in-office, noninvasive procedure to examine your vagina and cervix. The colposcope is positioned outside your vagina. By looking through the scope, your doctor at Dr. Javid OB/GYN gets a magnified view of the tissues lining your vagina and cervix.
Your doctor may perform a colposcopy to diagnose the cause of abnormal bleeding or to look for signs of inflammation, polyps, or genital warts. However, a colposcopy is most often done when the results of a Pap smear indicate abnormal cellular changes.
What Does it Mean When I Have an Abnormal Pap Smear?
Your Pap smear is performed to screen for cervical cancer. During a Pap smear, your doctor removes a sample of cells from your cervix and sends it to a lab for evaluation.
If all the cells in your Pap smear are normal, you have negative results. When you have positive results, it means your sample contained some abnormal cells, which is called cervical dysplasia.
The report your doctor receives from the lab tells the degree of cervical dysplasia. While there are various stages reported, they essentially range from mild to cancerous. The lab may report that the cells were mildly abnormal and likely caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). It could also say that moderate to severe precancerous or cancerous changes were identified.
When your test reports mild changes suggestive of an HPV infection, your doctor may wait a few months then take another Pap smear. In most cases, an HPV infection clears up without causing problems, so a follow-up test should be negative.
When your test reveals moderate to severe changes, and when a second Pap smear still shows HPV, you’ll undergo a colposcopy.
What Happens During a Colposcopy?
Your doctor at Dr. Javid OB/GYN swabs a liquid over your cervix that highlights abnormal tissue growth, then carefully examines the tissues. Any unusual tissues or growths are removed using a loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) or a cone biopsy. The tissues are then sent to a lab to determine whether they’re cancerous.