In order to determine the possible causes of female infertility, often such procedure as determining the patency of the fallopian tubes is prescribed. This study can be carried out in several ways.
Hysterosalpingography to check the patency of the fallopian tubes
Hysterosalpingography is the main way to check uterine tubes for patency. The principle of this method is the X-ray examination of the organs that make up the female reproductive system. The aim is to examine the fallopian tubes for patency, as well as determining the size and shape of the uterine cavity. With this method of investigation, a special X-ray contrast substance is introduced into the uterine cavity through the tubes. Given the patency of the fallopian tubes on an X-ray photograph, the shape of the uterine cavity and the tubes themselves are easily determined.
This method of testing the patency of the fallopian tubes can be performed on different days of the menstrual cycle, at the doctor's discretion. The procedure is performed on an empty stomach. Before she starts, the patient is given a cleansing enema.
The sequence of the procedure for examining the patency of the fallopian tubes during hysterosalpingography is as follows. With the help of a thin and long cannula, a substance is injected directly through the tubes into the uterine cavity, which is visible only under the rays of the x-ray apparatus (X-ray contrast). It fills the entire uterine cavity, the fallopian tubes and the cavity of the small pelvis. The path through which the liquid flows is monitored by a physician using an ultrasound machine. Then a photograph is taken using an X-ray machine. This substance in the image is black. This procedure is accompanied by small pain, discomfort for a woman. After its termination, a slight podkravlivanie.
Echogasterosalpingography
The second method of examining the patency of the tubes of the uterus is echogisterosalpingography. This is the method, during which the ultrasound equipment is used. It is performed exclusively on an outpatient basis, mainly in the first days after the end of the menstrual cycle. It is as follows. The cavity of the uterus is filled with a solution, with a volume of no more than 20 ml. Further, everything is carried out in the same way as in the case of hysterosalpingography, only the ultrasound apparatus is the controlling device. With poor patency of the fallopian tubes or when the fallopian tubes are impassable, the contrast substance practically does not enter the abdominal cavity, but lingers in one or both tubes.
Restoration of patency of the fallopian tubes
To date, there are 4 main methods, the use of which allows us to restore the patency of the fallopian tubes. It:
- Fertiloscopy;
- laparoscopy;
- hydroturbation;
- recanalization.
Not so long ago, the most common technique for treating obstruction of the fallopian tubes was hydroturbation. The essence of it was that a woman for 10 consecutive days entered a solution into the uterine cavity. With his help, more accurately with the help of pressure, they restored the patency of the fallopian tubes. This method among doctors was called purge. Due to the painful nature of this procedure, many clinics refused to use it.
Fertiloscopy is a study of the fallopian tubes and pelvic organs carried through the posterior vaginal fornix. In its essence, it is also a laparoscopy, only carried through the vagina.
Recanalization of the fallopian tubes is the main way to restore the patency of the fallopian tubes. It is used in the treatment of the disease in its initial stages. With the help of an X-ray machine, a thin conductor is inserted into the uterine cavity through which a catheter with a small balloon at the end is simultaneously advanced. After the doctor has got into the mouth of the tube, they begin to inflate the can. Increasing in size, it leads to the fact that the lumen of the tube expands. The conductor is advanced along the pipe until the existing violations of the patency of the tubes of the uterus are eliminated.