Hysterosalpingography with a balloon catheter versus a cannula: evaluation of patient pain.

The amount of procedural and post-procedural pain due to hysterosalpingography performed with a standard cannula (28 patients) versus a balloon catheter (23 patients) was compared. Patients completed questionnaires in which they rated the pain they experienced during insertion of the instrument, during injection of contrast material, immediately after the examination, several hours after the examination, and over the next 6 days. The balloon catheter produced less discomfort during the procedure but significantly more discomfort after the procedure than did the standard cannula. These results indicate that hysterosalpingography with the balloon catheter is not as painless as has been claimed.