Hegar dilators

Commercially available Hegar dilators are commonly sold in sets of 8, 10, or 14 individual rods.

[4][3] Patients with vaginismus use Hegar dilators of gradually increasing size, potentially followed by penetration by their partner.

During the process of dilation, the cervix may have to be stabilized with a tenaculum, and then the dilators are slowly entered into the cervical canal with a lubricant, starting with a thin, low Hegar number rod and progressing gradually to larger numbers.

Laminaria rods have also been used to open up the cervix but work slowly as they increase size by absorbing water.

Hegar dilators (commonly, sizes 11 and 12) have been used during the insertion of two intracorporal cylinders into the corpus cavernosum penis during penile implant procedures, but it has been shown that outcomes are better without this dilation, which destroys erectile tissue.