ABSTRACT
Hysteroscopy refers to the endoscopic visualization of the endometrial cavity and cervical canal (Video 7.1), while hysteroscopic surgery encompasses a spectrum of intrauterine procedures performed under the direction of a hysteroscope. Despite Pantaleone’s first publication of a hysteroscopic procedure in 1869,1 hysteroscopy has had an uneven uptake by gynecologists, perhaps in part because of the focus on hysterectomy in the twentieth century and in part because of the technical requirements necessary to perform intrauterine endoscopic procedures safely and effectively. Indeed, when the authors of this chapter began their gynecological careers more than 40 years ago, the most available opportunity to look inside the uterus in vivo was at cesarean section. However, advances in endoscopic technology now allow real-time visualization of the endometrial cavity by the surgeon, assistants, and, when performed with no local or regional anesthesia, the patient as well.
