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Fallopian Tube Procedures for Infertility
A fallopian tube blockage typically prevents successful passage of the egg to the sperm, or the fertilized egg to the uterus. Surgery can be used to try to correct this common cause of infertility. The specific type of surgery depends on the location and extent of the fallopian tube blockage.
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Some tubal procedures can be done using microsurgical techniques, either during open abdominal surgery or using laparoscopy through a small incision. The surgeon must have special training and expertise in microsurgery techniques and/or laparoscopy. This general overview describes the most common tubal procedures.
Tubal reanastomosis typically is used to reverse a tubal ligation or to repair a portion of the fallopian tube damaged by disease. The blocked or diseased portion of the tube is removed, and the two healthy ends of the tube are then joined. This procedure usually is done through an abdominal incision (laparotomy), but some specialists can perform this procedure using laparoscopy.
Salpingectomy, or removal of part of a fallopian tube, is done to improve in vitro fertilization (IVF) success when a tube has developed a buildup of fluid (hydrosalpinx). Hydrosalpinx makes it half as likely that an IVF procedure will succeed.1 Salpingectomy is preferred over salpingostomy for treating a hydrosalpinx before IVF.
Salpingostomy is done when the end of the fallopian tube is blocked by a buildup of fluid (hydrosalpinx). This procedure creates a new opening in the part of the tube closest to the ovary. But it is common for scar tissue to regrow after a salpingostomy, reblocking the tube.
Fimbrioplasty may be done when the part of the tube closest to the ovary is partially blocked or has scar tissue, preventing normal egg pickup. This procedure rebuilds the fringed ends of the fallopian tube.
For a tubal blockage next to the uterus, a nonsurgical procedure called selective tubal cannulation is the first treatment of choice. Using fluoroscopy or hysteroscopy to guide the instruments, a doctor inserts a catheter, or cannula, through the cervix and the uterus and into the fallopian tube.
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: March 19, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | Sarah Anne Marshall, MD - Family Medicine Femi Olatunbosun, MB, FRCSC - Obstetrics and Gynecology | |
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