Jessie Z's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: Bartholin Gland Hyperplasia: A Radiology Perspective on Diagnosing the Rare Condition
BASIS Advisor: Mr. Carey
Internship Location: Mayo Clinic (Scottsdale campus)
Onsite Mentor: Dr. Nelly Tan



Project Abstract

Bartholin gland hyperplasia (BGH) is an exceedingly rare condition that refers to a benign solid lesion of the female genital tract. There are only around 20 papers published on this disorder, all predominantly centered around a pathology perspective. In addition to the rarity of this condition, medical literature emphasizes how BGH goes misdiagnosed and underreported, posing a significant challenge to patients who have spent years searching for the right treatment. Although imaging modalities can play a critical role in diagnosing BGH, radiologic perspectives on this condition are not extensively covered in research or clinical practice. Without sufficient radiologic evidence, this disorder can remain under the radar in both diagnostic and treatment guidelines. Consequently, throughout my research internship mentored by Dr. Tan, an abdominal radiologist at Mayo Clinic, I will be working on a case series that presents important radiology findings from four patients. While collaborating with accomplished radiologists, pathologists, and gynecologists, I'm also helping gather additional clinical data, analyze key findings with classic MRI features, and publish a paper as first author. Hopefully, our research can bring greater awareness of BGH to the medical community and ease the worries of patients undergoing a stressful diagnosing and treatment process.

    My Posts:

  • Final Findings

    Greetings to everyone, I believe this is the final blog post, and I'm happy to share some of the final lessons I've learned during this internship. While my research primarily focuses on a radiology perspective, I would still like to highlight the importance of pathology. Before my research with Mayo Clinic physicians, studying the nodules... Read More

  • MRI settings

    Hello everyone, For this blog post, I will be going over the basics of how MRI can help radiologists diagnose numerous conditions. First, it's important to understand different MRI sequences (also referred to as settings). These settings can affect the type of information obtained, the contrast of tissues, and the overall scan time. Metaphorically speaking,... Read More

  • Understanding Medical Imaging: Diffusion Restriction

    Good morning everyone, My recent task has been working on formatting the MR images so that the paper is publication ready. It has been a very tedious process as some journals don't accept case series and all journals have rather specific requirements. For this post, I will elaborate more on the terminology I see in... Read More

  • New Updates

    Greetings to fellow blog readers, I'm happy to report that the recent week has been more eventful than previous ones. First, I noticed a mistake that I had made during the literature review. I had thought that there was no MRI documentation of Bartholin gland hyperplasia (BGH) in medical literature and thus Dr. Tan's would... Read More

  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging Planes

    Hello everyone, For a brief recap, my research with Dr. Tan focuses on MRI analysis as it is determined that MRIs could be potentially diagnostic for Bartholin gland hyperplasia. This would suggest that surgical excision and histological examinations are no longer necessary to provide this diagnosis. In addition to this method being non-invasive, MRI is... Read More

  • Reflection 3/18

    Good morning blog post readers, As I start working again after spring break, I find it a good time to write some reflections. One challenge that I am currently facing is that many of the physicians I'm collaborating with have very busy day to day schedules. Typically, OB/GYNs schedule patients every 10 minutes and see... Read More

  • Importance of Rare Conditions Deserving Attention in Medical Research

    Good Morning Everyone, I hope this blog post finds you well! After meeting with a gynecologist in regards to my research project, I've obtained a greater understanding of what patients go through during the diagnosis process. One of her patients with Bartholin gland hyperplasia actually went through five years of searching for the right diagnosis... Read More

  • Algorithms Like ChatGPT Are Transforming Patient Data Collection

    Hello everyone, This week, I've gained greater insight into medical research and data gathering of clinical information. One tool I found to be particularly interesting is similar to ChatGPT but for patient information. You can input specific questions or parameters, for example about patients' age and diagnosis, and it generates back appropriate responses. Though this... Read More

  • Radiology’s Blind Spot: The Underreported Role of Imaging in Bartholin Gland Hyperplasia Diagnosis

    Dear Readers, This week, I've spent most of my time reviewing literature of the papers already published on this topic. As Bartholin gland hyperplasia is exceedingly rare, only around 20 research papers on this disorder have been published. In addition to the rarity of this condition, many of the authors also bring up how Bartholin... Read More

  • Imaging Insights: Radiology Modalities in Diagnosing Bartholin Gland Hyperplasia

    Dear readers, As previously discussed, the use of radiology imaging techniques is prevalent in numerous healthcare specialties and fields. Under the guidance of Dr. Tan, an abdominal radiologist at Mayo Clinic, I've been assigned to work on a research paper, with its primary focus being case studies on Bartholin gland hyperplasia. Bartholin gland hyperplasia refers... Read More

  • Behind the Scenes of Radiology: How Images Shape Healthcare

    Greetings to all, I'm Jessie Zhang, planning on interning in radiology at Mayo Clinic's Scottsdale campus (https://college.mayo.edu/campus-and-community/arizona/locations/#scottsdale). Radiology is often an overlooked physician specialty, but it certainly remains one of the most important in the medical field. In every aspect of healthcare, we rely on radiology--from monitoring patients' health status, to formulating treatment plans, to... Read More