How Often Should I Get a Pelvic Exam?

Well there is some controversy about this, gynecologist feel that a woman would benefit from getting a pelvic examination every year. And when we talk about a pelvic examination, there is a little bit of confusion what's involved, because a Pap smear in fact, is not the same thing as a pelvic examination.

Pelvic examination has multiple parts, starting with the very close, visual inspection of the outside of the vagina, the vulva, we then put a speculum in, to look at the walls of the vagina and the cervix. And finally, the last part is what's called the bimanual exam. And we place two fingers in the vagina, the other hand on the belly, and in this way we can feel everything in the pelvis, the uterus, the ovaries, even things that you don't think of a gynecologist checking for, because you also have, bowel and bladder in your pelvis.

So, even if you've had a hysterectomy, there are still benefits to that annual pelvic examination.