What is a Colposcopy Exam?
If you just received your pap smear results and the cells viewed by the medical technician looked suspicious, you may be heading into the doctor’s office for a colposcopy exam. This is a follow-up exam that will allow the doctor to take a look at your cervix so he or she can determine if your cervical cells look normal or abnormal. Colposcopy exams are a part of standard cervical cancer prevention procedures. This exam is similar to the pap smear procedure you already experienced. You will change from your clothes into a gown, cover the lower part of your torso with a blanket or sheet and lie down on your back on the examination table, placing your feet in stirrups. The doctor will open your vagina with a speculum and bathe the cervix with a saline solution. Then he or she will look through the colposcopy lens, a type of telescope or microscope that will shine a light on your cervix, allowing the doctor to get a magnified look at your cervical cells. This part of the procedure does not
