Abstract
Author(s): Orestis Tsonis*, Fani Gkrozou, Lazaros Lavasidis and Minas Paschopoulos
Modern hysteroscopy has become the main diagnostic and therapeutic tool for the majority of endometrial pathologies and for managing women with fertility issues. Historical data reveals evidence of endoscopic procedures in gynecologic cases dating back over 4,500 years, long before the concept of hysteroscopy was developed. In 1869, Pantaleoni performed the first successful diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy on a menopausal woman suffering from postmenopausal bleeding due to an endometrial polyp. Since then, many advancements have been made in instrumentation, distension media and applications of hysteroscopy. Office hysteroscopy is the latest trend in this field, offering the advantage of "see and treat" without the need for preoperative analgesia or anaesthesia. This review focuses on the history and evolution of hysteroscopy as an endoscopic method, presenting all milestones chronologically. Important background information is provided on the limitations at the time, the concepts upon which researchers based their refinements, and the first-ever applications of any technological improvements. Year by year, the hysteroscope underwent reforms until it became the inseparable diagnostic and operative tool for gynaecologic endoscopists that we know today.