Meridia Medical is a Gynecology clinic established 15 years ago. We have developed expertise in Gynecology procedures that can safely be done in a clinic setting. We perform procedures that don’t require General Anesthetic, and have become a referral center for other Gynecologists, Emergency Room Physicians and Family Doctors.
Our team is caring, conscientious and helpful. We are proud of the service we provide. There is no other clinic we know of in Canada that offers the variety of services we do. We help many women be it diagnosing cancer, doing procedures to help with fertility, pregnancy loss, bleeding problems, managing pain or other Gynecology concerns. It is wonderful that any women can come into our clinic, no matter what language she speaks, where she lives or who she is. Everyone gets the same excellent care.
Gynecology is complex due to the anatomy involved, past experiences, the angst of pre cancer or cancer, by not being able to be pregnant, by the worry that age is overtaking plans and hopes, or that menopause is interfering with life, love and relationships.
That is why communication is vital. The nurses and I are there to help and advocate for you and we encourage you to give us feedback at any time, especially if you are not feeling comfortable.
We are a unique Gynecology procedure clinic, managing miscarriages, fertility problems, excessive bleeding, and urgent skin changes. Sometimes we may be running late due to unexpectant urgent cases or more complicated patients. Often patients may have another concern that needs to be dealt with. We try our best to call you and let you know that we are running late. We apologize if you are delayed: we are working hard to see everyone.
We need your help especially if we miss signals: this is really important during COVID when we all wear masks and can’t see facial expressions: so please let us know if you have questions, feel discomfort or are uncomfortable or prefer to delay the examination, ultrasound or Colposcopy.
Gynecology examinations, Colposcopy and diagnostic tests or procedures are what we do well, be it IUD insertions, Colposcopy, Hysteroscopic removal of polyps and fibroids, and managing Vulva skin conditions and some cosmetic procedures.
So what about the examination and ultrasounds at Meridia: Well firstly, we want you to know that you are in charge all the time and we are there to help you and to help formulate a solution together with you. Examinations are awkward and can be embarrassing. We acknowledge this and want you to participate by telling us how you feel and how the examination is progressing.
During examinations and Colposcopies there is always a nurse right next to me, helping me and always there for you. We will explain what we are doing beforehand and during. We always want you to give us continuous feedback. At any time if you want us to wait or stop, tell us immediately. We obviously want the process to be as easy as possible for you. We have tiny to larger examination instruments to accommodate your particular anatomy. This usually makes the examination very tolerable.
However if you experience discomfort we will never continue without your guidance: It is worrying and anxiety provoking for us too.
There are some patients who have conditions that do cause tenderness during examination, be it vestibulodynia /pain at the vaginal entrance, distorted anatomy due to fibroids or previous surgery, narrow anatomy or painful conditions such as endometriosis. We ask you to always let us know if you experience discomfort or pain. We will stop or adjust until you are comfortable.
Ultrasounds are critical for the kind of work we do. For example, we are referred patients from Gynecology colleagues almost daily to removed IUDs using Ultrasound guidance due to strings not being visible. We also use ultrasound to diagnose or confirm miscarriage and use it before and after procedures/treatment such as removing polyps or fibroids so that fertility can occur. We are referred patients every day from other Gynecologists who need small urgent procedures that require an ultrasound first, in order to do a safe procedure.
The ultrasound examination that we do requires a small ultrasound probe to be inserted into the vagina. This gives the most accurate information for our procedures or diagnoses. We are very careful about sterilizing the ultrasound probes of which we have many. Each probe is then covered with a single use protective sheath which is discarded afterward each use. We always apply lubrication. There is a nurse standing right next to me, helping with the ultrasound information and to help you. Our clinic has modern equipment and examination chairs that move from sitting to a semi flat position. Due to the nature of the ultrasound examination in the vagina, there may be movement when we are trying to find the uterus and ovaries. There can be discomfort just because there is something in the vagina, or if there are existing conditions that are tender or painful, such as infection, cysts, endometriosis and painful vaginal conditions. Please always let us know if you are not comfortable or feel tenderness. We will immediately wait and adjust or stop if you wish. We never want you to experience a negative examination: you are in charge and please give us immediate feedback.
I hope that you have found this information helpful and look forward to giving you the best care that we can.