Hysteroscopy - History and development

Abstract

Hysteroscopy is the gold standard for diagnosing and managing endocervical and endometrial pathology. The development of today’s hysteroscopy begins in the early 19th century. Initially, hysteroscopy was used solely for diagnostics. Operative hysteroscopy surfaced with the development of distension media, the hysteroscope, and its associated instruments. Operative hysteroscopy underwent the most significant development in the early 1970s, when new hysteroscopes were introduced, and the distension media became more widely used. A multitude of hysteroscopic procedures are performed with the common goal of removing pathological changes in the endometrial cavity. In the 1980s, small cameras, also known as “chip” cameras, were developed, leading to the transition of endoscopy into videoendoscopy. Bettocchi revolutionized modern hysteroscopy in 1996 when he used the first operative office hysteroscope. Operative resectoscopes, containing monopolar and bipolar energy, were also constructed. Hysteroscopic morcellators have been in use since the beginning of the 21st century. Today’s modern hysteroscopy represents a safe diagnostic and operative endoscopy.