After Your Outpatient Hysteroscopy

After Your Outpatient Hysteroscopy

We hope that this information leaflet will help you to understand your care options. We hope that you will feel comfortable to ask questions of your health professional so that you can work together to make a plan that meets your needs and priorities.

Remember you can always ask the healthcare professional to explain things differently, explain things again, or to write down information for you.

What should I know after my outpatient hysteroscopy?

You should be able to return to your normal activities after your outpatient hysteroscopy. We do advise that that you take it easy for the remainder of the day.

You may have some light, watery, blood stained discharge, spotting or light fresh bleeding for up to a week. This is where we have used water during your procedure. You should not be worried and this should settle within 72 hours. For some patients this will last longer but usually not more than a week.

What pain relief can I take after my procedure?

Some women may experience some crampy pain after the procedure. You can take some pain relief such as:

• Paracetamol every 4-6 hours;
• Ibuprofen every 8 hours.

Make sure you are not allergic to any of these medications and not taking anything which interacts with these medication.

Please ensure you do not exceed the maximum doses as per the medication’s instructions and account for any pain relief given to you during your appointment.

Please note we sometimes give you a high dose of Ibuprofen before or after your procedure. If we do this will reduce the amount of doses you can take when you go home but your clinician will advise you of this.

You may find it helpful to keep a record of pain relief taken (if needed) for a few days.

General Advice

You should avoid using tampons for 2-3 days after the procedure to reduce the risk of infection. 

Sexual intercourse and physical activity can be resumed when your bleeding has completely settled.

It is important to keep any follow up appointments that have been made for you.

What should I look out for?

Seek advice if you experience any of the following in the days after your procedure:

• Heavy bleeding that is worsening;
• Generally feeling unwell;
• Developing a high temperature (>38oC);
• Ongoing pain which doesn’t settle with analgesia;
• Vaginal discharge that smells offensive.

Who should I contact if I have any issues?

If you do experience any of these symptoms, please call:

Women’s Health Unit: 01527 512131

(open 9-5pm Monday to Friday)

And if out of hours:

Emergency Gynaecological Assessment Unit: 01905 761489

You can fill out the following table with your healthcare professional. This will help you to think about which option is best for you, given your individual situation. Doing nothing is also an option.

My Options include…	The Benefits Why is this option good for me?	The Risks What is not so good about this option for me?
To have treatment
To do nothing
Alternative treatment(s)

You might also want to ask…

• How quickly should I expect to see an improvement?
• Who should I contact if I have questions after I leave today?
• Do I need to come back to the hospital again? Or to see my GP after today?
• Where can I go to get more information?
• What lifestyle changes could I make to support my recovery?

Remember you can always ask the Doctor to explain things differently, explain things again, or to write down information for you.

Who should I contact if I have any problems?

The Women’s Health Unit is open 9-5pm Monday to Friday. Please feel free to call with any concerns you may have after your treatment.

The Emergency Gynaecology Assessment Unit (EGAU) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have any concerns outside of these hours you can ring EGAU to speak to one of the gynaecology nurses for advice. You can also speak to your GP who may be able to help with many issues.

Emergency Gynaecology Assessment Unit – 01905 761 489

Women’s Health Unit – 01527 512 131 (Monday-Friday 0900-1700).

If your symptoms or condition worsens, or if you are concerned about anything, please call your GP, 111, or 999.

Patient Experience

We know that being admitted to hospital can be a difficult and unsettling time for you and your loved ones. If you have any questions or concerns, please do speak with a member of staff on the ward or in the relevant department who will do their best to answer your questions and reassure you. 

Feedback

Feedback is really important and useful to us – it can tell us where we are working well and where improvements can be made. There are lots of ways you can share your experience with us including completing our Friends and Family Test – cards are available and can be posted on all wards, departments and clinics at our hospitals. We value your comments and feedback and thank you for taking the time to share this with us.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

If you have any concerns or questions about your care, we advise you to talk with the nurse in charge or the department manager in the first instance as they are best placed to answer any questions or resolve concerns quickly. If the relevant member of staff is unable to help resolve your concern, you can contact the PALS Team. We offer informal help, advice or support about any aspect of hospital services & experiences.

Our PALS team will liaise with the various departments in our hospitals on your behalf, if you feel unable to do so, to resolve your problems and where appropriate refer to outside help.

If you are still unhappy you can contact the Complaints Department, who can investigate your concerns. You can make a complaint orally, electronically or in writing and we can advise and guide you through the complaints procedure.

How to contact PALS:

Telephone Patient Services: 0300 123 1732 or via email at: [email protected]

Opening times:

The PALS telephone lines are open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.00pm. Please be aware that you may need to leave a voicemail message, but we aim to return your call within one working day. If you are unable to understand this leaflet, please communicate with a member of staff.

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