Follicular Study: Meaning, Reasons, Cost & Process

In this video SimpliHealth expert radiologist, Dr. Sandhya Dhankhar will talk about Follicular Study, its meaning, reasons, cost & process.

What is Follicular Monitoring?

Follicular monitoring is to see the growth of the follicles in the ovaries of women. And in this way, we can monitor how the egg is forming and what is the right time for them to release and to fertilize. 

How is the follicular monitoring test done?

There are two methods of doing this ultrasound 

1. One is transvaginal which is a more accurate method 
2. The second is the transabdominal. 

The transvaginal method is more accurate because it gives you a close vision of the ovaries and it is a better vision of the follicles because they are only a few millimeters so we can see them better. By transabdominal scan what happens because the bladder in between the ovaries is far off and that is why we cannot see follicles so clearly. So it is always better to have a transvaginal scan which is done by inserting a probe into the vagina to look for the follicles.

Is Follicular Monitoring painful?

No. It is just slightly uncomfortable you can say, but it is not at all painful.

Who requires particular monitoring?

Normally those women who have difficulty in conceiving or who are on treatment for having pregnancy, those have infertility in which we want to see how the follicle is growing. So basically by this, we see what is the best timing for the fertilization of the egg. 

When is the best time to do follicle tracking?

We start first with the baseline scan, which is done on the second day of the period second or third day. This baseline scan is done to see whether ovaries are normal. Whether there is any remaining cyst from the previous cycle. If there is any chocolate cyst or any other abnormality in the ovaries.

And then we look for the uterus, and we look for the endometrium how it is behaving. If there are any abnormalities including the tubes, sometimes we see hydrosalpinx. 

This is a baseline test to detect any kind of abnormalities as such and then we call the woman at around 7th day or 8th day, and accordingly. Then we monitor the growth of the follicle and we call them after two days, or after one day. At least five-six sittings are needed to do complete follicular monitoring.

Are there any side effects for a follicular monitoring ultrasound scan?

No, there are no side effects of follicular monitoring ultrasound, it’s absolutely safe to do follicular monitoring. 

Follicular Study Test Price

If we want to just do a single scan, it is approximately 800 INR. But making it as a package, because most of these patients require at least a minimum of 5-6 cans in one cycle. So we do follicular study for around 2,500 INR. So it’s very cost-effective.

Bottom line

So as such follicular monitoring is important for those patients. Who are undergoing IVF treatment or who are facing difficulty in getting pregnant. So we can tell them this is the right time for them to conceive. Even gynecologists can regularise their treatment of doses of the hormones, whether to increase or decrease the dose, with the help of follicular monitoring. It is a very helpful test for such patients. 

That’s all for today, thank you Dr. Sandhya Dhankhar for sharing all this information with others and also for making this test affordable for many of the patients.