CULDOSCOPY: ITS DIAGNOSTIC VALUE IN PELVIC DISEASE

Pathologic conditions of the female pelvis that do not permit a positive diagnosis by the routine methods are occasionally suspected or actually encountered. In the presence of inconclusive observations in conditions that require a positive diagnosis, exploration by laparotomy has frequently been employed. It is believed that any safe method of direct study of the pelvic viscera that avoids exposure by laparotomy deserves consideration.

HISTORY  The value of endoscopic visualization is amply demonstrated by its frequent application to the body cavities and hollow viscera by specialists in many fields.In 1910, Kelling¹ successfully visualized the abdominal viscera through an endoscope by means of abdominal puncture. Ruddock² in 1934 published a report of 900 patients examined by means of a peritoneoscope introduced through the anterior abdominal wall.Abdominal puncture, in the absence of ascites, regardless of the favorable reports of its advocates, has not gained widespread recognition. The critics