Surgery may reveal hidden gynaecological issues scans miss

Times Now News reports that even advanced medical imaging like ultrasound, CT and MRI, while essential for surgical planning, cannot always reveal everything a surgeon may encounter during an operation. Gynaecological procedures can uncover findings not clearly visible on pre-operative scans, including small endometriosis deposits, pelvic adhesions, tiny cysts, subtle ovarian changes, and anatomical variations. Dr Jyoti Arora of Apollo Athenaa Women’s Cancer Centre said imaging and direct surgical assessment answer different questions, and an unexpected finding does not mean the scan was wrong.

An unexpected finding does not automatically indicate cancer, experts said. It may be a benign condition, inflammation, scar tissue, or a normal variant. When tissue is removed, pathology provides a definitive diagnosis. Dr Rupinder Sekhon, also of Apollo Athenaa, described imaging as a roadmap and surgery as direct assessment. He said combining both approaches is especially important for complex diseases and cancers of the uterus, cervix, or ovaries.

The article notes patients are counselled before surgery about the possibility of additional findings. The goal is for imaging and surgery to complement each other, not work independently, allowing doctors to develop personalised treatment plans.