TRANSVAGINAL SONOGRAPHY OF THE INTERNAL GENITAL ORGANS IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN ON LOW-DOSE ESTROGEN-TREATMENT

Thirty healthy postmenopausal women with symptoms and signs of atrophi c 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 es tradiol released from a vaginal ring. The mean endometrial thickness, before and after the treatment, was 2.9 mm and 2.5 mm, respectively. T here were no changes in endometrial volume or uterine thickness and vo lume during the treatment period. The mean volume of the postmenopausa l 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 thei r deficiency symptoms, without any effect on the endometrium, the uter us or the ovaries when measured by transvaginal ultrasound.