For Easier Pap Smears, Use a Condom

Performing Papanicolaou tests in obese patients can be difficult: during the speculum examination, the sidewalls of the vagina tend to occlude your view of the cervix. I have found that cutting off the tip of a condom and rolling it over the speculum provides substantial resistance to the sidewalls, thereby improving visualization of the cervix.

Adam J. Breinig, DO

Charleston, WVa

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