Outcome of laparoscopy-guided hysteroscopic tubal catheterization for infertility due to proximal tubal obstruction.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To determine pregnancy outcomes after laparoscopy-guided hysteroscopic tubal catheterization and to report its role in the era of in vitro fertilization.

DESIGN

Clinical cases series (Canadian Task Force classification II-3).

SETTING

Reproductive surgery center.

PATIENTS

Patients with unilateral or bilateral proximal tubal obstruction as the only cause of infertility were included.

INTERVENTIONS

Laparoscopy-guided hysteroscopic tubal catheterization.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Only the first spontaneous conception was considered. Cumulative conception rate (CCR) was calculated using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Of 168 women included, 107 (63.7%) had bilateral proximal obstruction and 61 (36.3%) had unilateral obstruction. The successful recanalization rate was 54.2% per tube and 61.9% per patient. In the 93 patients in whom at least 1 fallopian tube was successfully recanalized, 40 spontaneous pregnancies (43.0%) occurred within 24 months, of which 35 (37.6%) were intrauterine pregnancies and 28 (30.1%) resulted in live births. The CCR was 37.6% at 1 year and 43.7% at 2 years. Patients with unilateral obstruction in whom cannulation was successful had the highest CCR (60.7% at 2 years).

CONCLUSION

Successful tubal cannulation led to significant improvement in the pregnancy rate, which suggests that women with a proximal tubal block could be considered for laparoscopy-guided hysteroscopic cannulation, which is still a viable alternative to in vitro fertilization.