University Hospitals Launches Advanced Gynecologic Imaging Unit

Innovations in Obstetrics & Gynecology | Fall 2022

Obstetrical imaging has always been a strength at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. UH offers advanced imaging systems capable of giving providers high-resolution images of babies’ internal structures, supporting important interventions performed by the high-risk obstetrics team. Now, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology is broadening those capabilities with a parallel offering: an advanced gynecologic imaging unit.

Rebecca Flyckt, MD, Division Chief, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Medical Director of the UH Fertility Center, says this new unit will come to life through the University Hospitals Healthy Women Initiative.

Rebecca Flyckt, MD

Introducing a New Imaging Unit

UH has been awarded a $200,000 grant from the state of Ohio to bring high-level ultrasound machines to the UH Rainbow Ahuja Center for Women & Children in Cleveland and the UH Ahuja Medical Center OB/GYN location. The development of this novel offering was a collaboration among Dr. Flyckt, Stephanie Teal, MD, MPH, gynecologist-in-chief and chair, department of obstetrics and gynecology at UH, and Lara Bohinc, manager, MacDonald Imaging Center at UH.

“The addition of a dynamic women’s health imaging platform with state-of-the-art equipment will enable UH to accurately detect and characterize gynecologic conditions that can severely impact women’s quality of life,” says Dr. Flyckt.

These advanced GYN sonography capabilities will help UH GYN providers more accurately diagnose conditions like endometriosis, uterine fibroids and adenomyosis.

UH is actively engaged in discussions with GE medical imaging to determine the best machines to meet this need, with plans to launch the new imaging unit in 2023. Eventually, Dr. Flyckt hopes that UH will have advanced GYN ultrasound imaging systems available at several sites within the health system.

Improving Surgical Planning

Accurate diagnoses driven by these advanced imaging capabilities will facilitate expert surgical planning. Women with endometriosis and fibroids often undergo multiple surgeries, as it can be hard to understand the extent of the condition with traditional methods. Without advanced imaging, managing a complex condition like endometriosis can sometimes mean finding additional areas of concern only after the procedure begins.

“In some complicated cases, you really need detailed mapping of the pelvis with imaging before surgery. This allows our surgeons to prepare for and deliver one surgery, done the right way, the first time, every time,” Dr. Flyckt says.

Armed with detailed imaging, care planning teams can prepare for every aspect of a procedure before it begins. That can even include bringing more specialists on board.

“Managing endometriosis has really become a team sport. There are cases where sometimes you go in with a urologist, with a colorectal surgeon, with a thoracic surgeon depending on where the patient’s disease is located,” says Dr. Flyckt. “I can go in and eradicate all of that disease to give them a better quality of life with all of the hands that are needed to help.”

Helping Underserved Communities

Common gynecological conditions like endometriosis can go undiagnosed for years, severely impacting a person’s quality of life.

“Women who are saddled with endometriosis or fibroids also have multiple stresses on their plate — trying to navigate being part of the workforce, childcare, getting the time and space to get the care that they need and deserve,” Dr. Flyckt says.

Socioeconomic challenges add another barrier that makes it that much harder to get an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. This new advanced ultrasound unit will play an important role in reaching women who live in underserved communities. UH is partnering with Dr. Flyckt and her colleagues to bring advanced imaging to patients who need it most.

“With this program, we are bringing high-level, state-of-the-art ultrasound directly into our local and oftentimes underserved Cleveland communities,” says Dr. Flyckt.

Driving Imaging Innovation

UH is committed to the launch and growth of the new ultrasound unit, says Dr. Flyckt. The health system has instituted a patient navigator for gynecology, a resource that will help connect women’s health patients to the providers and advanced imaging they need. The new imaging unit also holds the promise of innovative research in gynecology.

“Our hope is that the research we’re going to do down the line will show that this reduces the need for recurrences and repeat surgeries that often accompany a diagnosis of endometriosis or fibroids,” Dr. Flyckt says.

Contact Dr. Rebecca Flyckt at Rebecca.Flyckt2@uhhospitals.org to learn more about this innovative imaging unit at University Hospitals.

Contributing Expert:
Rebecca Flyckt, MD
Division Chief, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
UH Cleveland Medical Center and UH Ahuja Medical Center
Medical Director of the UH Fertility Center
Associate Professor
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine