ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Ginecologica 2000 December;52(12):497-502

Copyright © 2000 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Female infertility: treatment of the hydrosalpinx

Calleri L. F., Taccani C., Porcelli A.

Background. The aim of this study was to show how a laparoscopic salpingectomy can positively modify infertile patients pregnancy rate after a diagnosis of hydrosalpinx, obtaining, through successive assisted procreation programs, a pregnancy rate equal to the pregnancy rate obtained in good conditions.
Methods. A group of 19 women under infertility treatment was evaluated: of these women, 11 were included less than three times in an assisted procreation program and 8 were included three or more times in these programs, for a total of 41 cycles of assisted reproduction: all these cycles were characterized by a negative result.
All 19 patients were treated by diagnostic-operative laparoscopy: a salpingectomy was carried out after a hydrosalpinx in all these cases.
Results. All patients were treated with 2 assisted reproduction cycles, which were made with a variable range of time from 3 to 6 months after laparoscopic surgery, totalizing 38 cycles.
At present, 4 pregnancies have been obtained (pregnancy rate = 22%): this value is comparable to the values obtained in the best assisted reproduction programs.
Conclusions. Many studies showed that hydrosglpinx presence reduces very much FIVET procedures. There are many cases showing that the hydrosalpinx become worse, if it has not been preventively treated, during assisted reproduction programs. Moreover complications during FIVET programs in the presence of hydrosalpinx are observed. Even if this study is based on data related to a small number of patients, it's clear that surgical treatment of severe tubarian pathology can give the best results where an assisted reproduction program will be surely unsuccessful.