Shock! An 8-year-old girl had vaginal bleeding for a month, and a non-invasive hysteroscopy revealed the cause

At the age of 8, when she should have been innocent and carefree, Xiaohua (pseudonym) encountered an unspeakable crisis - vaginal bleeding lasted for a month. Her anxious family took her to several hospitals, and she was eventually diagnosed with precocious puberty.

After being introduced by a friend, the family of the child came to the outpatient clinic of Tang Zhengyu, director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and chief physician of the Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province (Provincial Brain Hospital) for help. After multidisciplinary collaboration and minimally invasive technology innovation, this battle for children's reproductive health finally saw the dawn.

So what is precocious puberty? Director Tang Zhengyu pointed out that precocious puberty refers to the development of secondary sexual characteristics in girls before the age of 8 and in boys before the age of 9. In recent years, the incidence of precocious puberty in children in China has increased by 3-5% per year, of which 80% are idiopathic (no clear cause). In addition to typical manifestations such as breast development and sudden growth in height, abnormal vaginal bleeding is the "red alert" that is most easily ignored by female children.

The particularity of this case is that the continuous bleeding may be caused by the shedding of the endometrium due to abnormal sex hormones, but more dangerous organic lesions must be ruled out. According to the "Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Precocious Puberty in Chinese Children", about 5% of children with precocious puberty have serious diseases such as tumors and reproductive tract malformations. Timely differential diagnosis is related to the future reproductive function and even life safety of children.

Faced with the dual anxieties of parents who "want a clear diagnosis but are afraid of harming their children," Chen Yanhui, deputy chief physician of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Hunan Provincial Second People's Hospital (Provincial Brain Hospital) , demonstrated the precise breakthroughs in modern gynecology.

Hysteroscopy is not unfamiliar to adult women and can be used to diagnose and treat a variety of uterine diseases. However, the difficulty and risk of performing hysteroscopy on an 8-year-old girl are greatly increased. If you are not careful, you may damage her tender reproductive tract tissue. Fortunately, the hospital has an experienced hysteroscopy expert , Deputy Chief Physician Chen Yanhui .

Dr. Chen Yanhui used the smallest scope to perform a painless hysteroscopy on Xiaohua. The whole process went very smoothly. Not only did it not damage the hymen and other reproductive tract tissues, but it also preserved their functions. The cause of the disease was successfully found, laying the foundation for subsequent treatment. This technological breakthrough makes gynecological examinations possible for children under 8 years old.

Tang Zhengyu, director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and chief physician, specially reminded: "Children are not smaller versions of adults. Their gynecological diagnosis and treatment requires a specially trained technical team. Parents should not delay diagnosis due to excessive concerns about examination injuries. Modern medicine has achieved the dual goals of 'both clear examination and comprehensive protection'."

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Hunan Second People's Hospital (Provincial Brain Hospital) has made remarkable achievements in hysteroscopic diagnosis and treatment, and performs nearly 1,000 hysteroscopic surgeries every year. We have a professional technical team with experienced and skilled doctors, and are equipped with advanced surgical equipment. Whether it is a special patient like Xiaohua or other women with various gynecological problems, we are confident that we can provide the best medical services to protect the health of women.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Zhang Beilei, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hunan Second People's Hospital (Provincial Brain Hospital), and Tan Shuangli, Department of Publicity

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(Edited by YT)