Transvaginal Ultrasound London – A Clearer View of the Uterus and Ovaries

Why women choose us for a transvaginal ultrasound in London

Booking an internal scan takes a certain amount of trust, and the least we can do is take the guesswork out of everything around it. The fee is £180, published here before you book, and the appointment is 20 to 25 minutes. You can ask for a female sonographer or a chaperone when you ring, and the team will tell you honestly whether that can be arranged for the slot you want rather than promising it and sorting it out later.

The room is quiet, the door is closed, and the person scanning you talks you through what they are doing as they go. There is a longer list of ultrasound examinations carried out at the clinic, all at the same fixed fee. These are the scans available to book:

If you are unsure whether an internal scan is the right one for your symptoms, ask us before you book, or arrange a private GP appointment so that somebody can examine you and advise first; our gynaecology service is another way in. If you are a GP or consultant sending a patient, refer a patient sets out what we need. Nothing can be diagnosed over the telephone, and we will tell you plainly when a scan is not what you need. Every fee the clinic publishes sits on the price list.

What a transvaginal ultrasound can and cannot show

Placing the probe inside the vagina puts it within a few centimetres of the pelvic organs, and that closeness is the whole point of the examination. The uterus, the ovaries and the endometrial lining appear in more detail than a scan through the tummy usually manages, particularly if the ovaries sit low in the pelvis or there is bowel gas in the way.

It is the scan commonly used when someone is being looked at for heavy, irregular or painful periods, for pelvic pain, for bleeding after the menopause, for a suspected fibroid or ovarian cyst, or for difficulty conceiving. Bleeding after the menopause always needs an urgent NHS assessment. Tell your GP promptly, whatever a private scan shows. Book a scan alongside that, not instead of it. Broadly, it gives a view of:

• The size, shape and position of the uterus, and fibroids sitting in its wall
• The thickness and appearance of the endometrium, the lining that sheds each month
• The ovaries and their follicles, and cysts that a scan through the abdomen can blur
• Free fluid in the pelvis, and the position of an intrauterine coil whose threads cannot be felt

What it produces is a careful description of what could be seen and measured, not a label. Sound waves do not pass through bone or gas, and some findings need blood tests, a hysteroscopy or an MRI before anyone can be certain — the clinic offers neither hysteroscopy nor MRI, and will say so rather than pretend otherwise. Please note that the clinic does not carry out pregnancy scans of any kind. If you are pregnant, or think you might be, tell us when you book, because it can affect whether a test is suitable for you.

What happens during the scan

The sonographer meets you, explains what they intend to do and asks about your symptoms and the date your last period started. Nothing begins until you have said yes to it. If you have asked for a chaperone, they are in the room before the examination starts, and you are welcome to bring a friend, a partner or a relative in with you instead, or as well.

You undress from the waist down behind a curtain and lie on the couch with a sheet over you. The probe is about the width of a finger, covered with a fresh protective sheath and a little lubricating gel, and it goes no further in than a tampon. Most women describe pressure rather than pain. If anything feels sore, say so and the sonographer will ease off or stop.

In order, the appointment runs like this:

1. You talk through your symptoms and the date of your last period, and consent before anything begins.
2. You empty your bladder — an internal scan wants it empty, unlike a pelvic scan done over the abdomen.
3. You undress from the waist down behind a curtain and lie on the couch under a sheet.
4. The covered, lubricated probe is placed gently, and the images appear on the screen as it is moved.
5. You dress in private, and the images go away to be reported.

You can ask for the examination to be paused or stopped at any moment, for any reason at all, and that is not treated as a problem or a wasted appointment. A period does not usually prevent the scan and a tampon can simply be taken out beforehand, but plenty of women would rather not be scanned during one — say so when the team ring and it is moved, with no pressure either way.

How long it takes, and when your report arrives

The appointment is booked for 20 to 25 minutes, and the scanning part is usually shorter than that. The rest is checking in, the conversation beforehand and any questions you want to put before you leave. There is no sedation and nothing to recover from, so you can drive, eat and go back to your day straight afterwards.

Your written report is normally e-mailed to you as a PDF within one working day of your appointment. You receive a copy and, with your consent, we can send it to your GP or consultant — for a weekend appointment that copy can take up to 48 hours. Appointments run from 9am to 5pm on weekdays, and from 8am to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Same or next-day appointments are often available.

If the report has not reached you by the time you were told to expect it, ring the clinic and chase it rather than waiting quietly — how your results reach you sets out the whole process, and what to expect on the day covers the visit itself.

Finding the clinic, and travelling in from across London

You are seen at the London Diagnostic Centre itself — at the rear of Grovelands Medical Centre, 1 Grovelands Rd, London N13 4RJ. Grovelands Road runs between Aldermans Hill and Fox Lane in Palmers Green, a short walk west of Green Lanes and the Palmers Green Triangle, and the department sits behind the medical centre rather than at the front of it, so ask the team exactly where to come in when they ring to confirm.

Palmers Green station is a short walk away on the Hertford Loop line, with direct trains from Moorgate and Finsbury Park, and Winchmore Hill is the next station north. Southgate and Oakwood on the Piccadilly line are a short ride on the 121, which runs on to Palmers Green station, and the 329 and the W6 stop close by as well.

Women travel in for this scan from across this side of London:

• Palmers Green (N13) and Winchmore Hill (N21), within walking distance for many patients
• Southgate (N14) and Oakwood, a stop or two along the Piccadilly line, or straight through on the 121
• Enfield, straight down Green Lanes (A105); Edmonton, across Hedge Lane or Bury Street
• Wood Green and Bounds Green, south down Green Lanes or round the A406 North Circular
• Muswell Hill and Alexandra Park, over to the south-west of the clinic

Ask about parking and the entrance when the team telephone you, and mention anything that would make the visit easier — an appointment early in the day, a chaperone, a quieter time. If you use a wheelchair, have trouble with steps, or need an interpreter or someone with you, say so when the team ring back and they will tell you exactly what the building can and cannot do and arrange what is needed. Booking for a young person? Tell us their age when you ring, because some examinations are not suitable for children and the team will say plainly if yours is not one we can do; a patient under 16 must be brought by a parent or someone with parental responsibility, who consents to the test with them. If you are claiming on a policy, paying with insurance explains what to sort out first, and the frequently asked questions page covers the practical odds and ends.