Adenomyosis : Detection
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor, the information on these pages is gathered from my own experience, books, websites, and other people's experience. I will not be held responsible for any injury resulting from this information. If you have a medical condition, you should seek qualified medical advice and supervision at all times.
How is it detected?
The most reliable detection is a biopsy of the removed uterus after a hysterectomy. The surgeons and pathologists can take their time and thoroughly test all areas of the muscle.
One other diagnosis method that has a decent chance of success is an MRI, to detect abnormal tissue inside the uterine wall.
A needle biopsy may be done during a laparoscopy, but this relies heavily on the surgeon's experience at detecting adenomyosis through the outer surface of the uterus, and sampling exactly the right spot. Boggy, lumpy or otherwise malformed sections of the muscle wall may indicate an adenomyoma inside that section of the uterine muscle.
One other common method of initial diagnosis is using ultrasound to check the size of the uterus. The uterus may (or may not) 'swell' and enlarge with the scar tissue and blood inside the muscle wall. Often sufferers will talk about a '4 week size uterus' - comparing the size of their enlarged uterus with the size of a pregnant woman's uterus. Ultrasound technology has been substantially improved to show blood flow. Adenomyomas may be shown with abnormal blood flow, and the more advanced growths are now easily detected with this method, providing the examiner is trained to know what they are looking for.
A CA125 blood test may show the uterus is damaged. Cancer Antigen 125 is released when the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, liver, chest cavity or abdominal cavity is inflammed or damaged. Because such a wide variety of diseases can cause elevated CA125 levels, this test is very imprecise and unreliable. More information.
Typically a diagnosis of adenomyosis is given when everything else is ruled out.