Our unit has been running since 2019 and was established to offer women with irregular pap smears a means of diagnosis and treatment as an outpatient under local anaesthetic. While this is the usual way cervical abnormalities are managed in state facilities locally and abroad, South African private practice is new to this concept.
The challenges facing healthcare in light of the COVID-19 pandemic have made this unit more relevant than ever, allowing women to receive the care they need without risking the financial and health consequences that can emanate from an unnecessary admission and theatre procedure performed under general anaesthetic.
Read More
LadyDocs Colposcopy is run by Dr Trudy Smith and Dr Judith Carter - gynaecologists who are not only experienced in the field but also passionate about women’s health and the prevention of cervical cancer.
Please note that as many patients may need to visit the unit several times over the course of a year or two, photographs of the magnified cervix are taken to allow for future comparison and to assess progression/resolution of the cervical abnormalities detected. We occasionally also photograph moles or other skin irregularities of the vulva for monitoring purposes, just as a dermatologist would do for skin elsewhere on the body.
We pride ourselves on being an academic unit following evidence-based guidelines to inform our practice. We, with your help, will be able to generate valuable data that can be used to improve the service all healthcare practitioners offer to women in the field of cervical cancer prevention.
As such, we request that you give us permission to use your anonymised data for auditing and research purposes. We will provide you with a consent form to sign in this regard. We will need you to specifically opt out of this on the consent form you sign for the procedure, as it is such an important tool for follow-up.
The use of your data for research purposes is completely voluntary, but we do hope you will see the value in consenting to its use to assist other women and female children.