Transvaginal sonography of the internal genital organs in postmenopausal women on low-dose estrogen treatment

Abstract

Thirty healthy postmenopausal women with symptoms and signs of atrophic vaginitis due to estrogen deficiency were examined with transvaginal ultrasound. The endometrial thickness, the uterus and the ovaries were measured before and after 6 months of treatment with a low dose of estradiol released from a vaginal ring. The mean endometrial thickness, before and after the treatment, was 2.9 mm and 2.5 mm, respectively. There were no changes in endometrial volume or uterine thickness and volume during the treatment period. The mean volume of the postmenopausal ovary before treatment was 4.2 ml, and there was no difference after treatment or between the right and the left side. With a low dose of estradiol, administered locally, all the women were relieved from their deficiency symptoms, without any effect on the endometrium, the uterus or the ovaries when measured by transvaginal ultrasound.