What should I do if I have polyps at the vaginal opening?

We know that most polyps are caused by inflammation, but women have very different attitudes towards polyps at the vaginal opening. Some people are very afraid that it will affect fertility or even turn into tumors or cancer in the future. After all, there are many such examples. Some women, however, believe that polyps are just minor problems caused by inflammation. As the inflammation subsides, the polyps will disappear. So whose opinion is right? How much do we know about vaginal polyps? Let's take a look at the relevant knowledge about uterine polyps. And today's question: What should I do if I have polyps at the vaginal opening?

1. Polyp refers to the growths on the surface of human tissue. Modern medicine usually refers to the growths growing on the surface of human mucosa as polyps, including hyperplastic, inflammatory, hamartoma, adenoma and other tumors. Polyps are a type of benign tumor. The most common clinical manifestations are inflammatory polyps, adenomatous polyps and certain gastrointestinal polyposis syndromes. Although these lesions are benign, some of them have a tendency to become malignant. Cysts that grow under the skin, lipomas in adipose tissue, myomas in muscles, etc. can also cause bulges on the body surface, but they are not classified as polyps.

In medicine, it is usually named according to the location where it appears. For example, those that grow on the vocal cords are called "vocal cord polyps", those that appear on the stomach wall are called "gastric polyps", those in the intestinal cavity are called "intestinal polyps", and so on. If there are more than two polyps in a certain part, it is also called "multiple polyps".

2. (1) Cholesterol polyps: Cholesterol deposition is an important cause of gallbladder polyps. Cholesterol is deposited in the macrophages of the lamina propria of the gallbladder mucosa and gradually protrudes to the mucosal surface, promoting mucosal epithelial hyperplasia, an increase in Ro-A sinus and thickening of the muscularis to form polyps. The pathological characteristics of cholesterol polyps are multiple small polyps. A report on 74 cases of cholesterol polyps showed that 97% were less than 10 mm in diameter, 50% were multiple, and the average number was 3.09±3.31 (neoplastic polyps are mostly single lesions, which have clinical differential significance). Cholesterol polyps are brittle and thin, easily separated from the mucosa, not accompanied by intestinal metaplasia and atypical hyperplasia, and do not contain other matrix components. Even if accompanied by inflammation, it is very mild, and there has been no report of canceration so far.

(3) Adenomatous hyperplasia: A proliferative lesion that is neither inflammatory nor neoplastic. It is a yellow, soft, wart-like mass with a diameter of about 5 mm and may be single or multiple. It is composed of rich connective tissue containing smooth muscle bundles and goblet cells, and its surface has epithelial hyperplasia accompanied by intestinal metaplasia. Adenoid hyperplasia causes a significant increase in the number of Royaume-Adenoid sinuses formed by the extension of the mucosal epithelium into the muscular layer. The sinus openings are often narrow, resulting in bile stasis, inflammation, or gallstones embedded in the sinuses, which may lead to cancer.

(4) Adenomyoma: There are local changes in the mucosal epithelium, muscle fiber hyperplasia and localized adenomyosis, so it is also called adenomyosis in medicine. There are three types: diffuse, segmental and localized. Adenomyoma is also a proliferative lesion that is neither inflammatory nor tumorous, but it may also become cancerous.

3. The cause of polyps may be related to inflammatory endocrine disorders, especially excessive estrogen levels. The epithelial cells of the fetus are susceptible during the embryonic period. This characteristic causes epithelial cells to grow rapidly and form polyps during the growth and development period. We don’t know whether your child has multiple or single polyps. Surgical treatment is recommended. If not treated in time, long-term bloody stools will affect the child’s physical health and cause anemia. Generally, this disease can be treated by transanal resection. The operation can be completed in about 20 minutes. It has no other impact on the child and is relatively safe.

Regarding follow-up examination after polypectomy, it is generally believed that for a single adenomatous polyp to be removed, a follow-up examination should be conducted once within the first year after surgery. If the examination is negative, a follow-up examination should be conducted every 3 years. If multiple adenomas are removed or adenomas are larger than 20 mm and accompanied by atypical hyperplasia, follow-up examinations should be conducted every 3 to 6 months. If the result is negative, the follow-up examination should be conducted once a year. If the result is negative for two consecutive times, the follow-up examination should be conducted once every 3 years. The follow-up examination period should be no less than 15 years.