The making of a colposcopist. A safe and sensible approach

A program was established to determine the accuracy of colposcopy at our institution. Forty-three patients with cytologic or histologic evidence of severe dysplasia or worse underwent diagnostic conization following satisfactory colposcopy. Thirty patients subsequently had either therapeutic conization or hysterectomy preceded by biopsy only. In all 73 cases, the surgical specimen did not reveal a more advanced lesion. However, when the colposcopy was unsatisfactory, the rate of error was 20.8%. It is our opinion that colposcopy is a safe and valuable technique as long as one recognizes the need for training and understands the indications for further diagnostic studies. The use of the colposcope for the evaluation of abnormal cervical cytology has increased steadily over the last few years, and several excellent courses are now offered throughout the United States. Armed with a certificate from such a course, many gynecologists then become self-proclaimed colposcopists in spite of warnings to the contrary by the instructors. In addition, supervision by experienced personnel is not always available. How, then, does one indeed become an accomplished colposcopist to the point that he or she can safely spare the patient the risk, inconvenience and expense of diagnostic cervical conization? Although several recent publications 2,5,6,9,11 document the diagnostic accuracy of colposcopically directly biopsies, we feel each individual should develop and evaluate his or her own skill before altering or abandoning conventional methods of diagnosis and management. The purpose of this report is to present our experience with colposcopy utilizing a program which can perhaps serve as a model to other clinicians.