A Fallopian Tube Health Check!

Blocked or damage to a fallopian tube may be a common cause of infertility. This will be another test essential for your physician to undertake during his/her investigation. Infertility in females is very often attributed to an unhealthy tube or tubes in the reproductive system.

Health check tests

These tubes are extremely delicate structures. Less than 4mm (1/8 inch) in diameter at their narrowest, they are easily damaged. As many as one-third of women who seek infertility assistance are found to have a problem with their tube or tubes.

Once the primary tests, i.e. ovulation test, are completed, then the female tubes are checked. These tests are still among the first investigations made when an infertile couple attend a specialist clinic.

1. Hysterosalpingogram:

• Also known as HSG, this is an X-ray picture of the uterus and tubes, which can show up problems inside them.
• A special dye, that can be monitored on an X-ray screen, is slowly injected into the uterus and should pass into the fallopian tube.
• If it fails to do so, this may indicate some damage, distortion, or blockage in the tubes.

2. Laparoscopy:

• The laparoscope, is a slender telescope - only about the width of a fountain pen - that uses fibreoptics to look directly into the abdominal cavity.
• This is one of the most useful tests for finding out whether a woman's tubes are blocked or damaged
• It gives a superb view of all the organs, allowing your surgeon to assess their health and giving information on adhesions, endometriosis and ovarian disease.
• It is also used extensively in diagnosing or treating STD's.
• High quality videos can also be taken through the laparoscope so that the doctor can refer to them later, if necessary.
• Laparoscopy is performed under a general anesthetic, but is usually a day procedure.
• It may also be useful in showing that the organs are healthy.
• Eggs can be removed for use during in vitro fertilization (IVF), using laparoscopy.

Infertility tests

In summary, the above tests will be performed by a physician specialist. Sometimes these tests are necessary, not only to prove where a problem exists, but to also rule out any problems. The health of the fallopian tube is essential during ovulation for the journey of the egg.

Up to a third of cases in infertility in females, fall into the unexplained category. These kind of situations are explored to rule out problems, so that decisions about treatments and alternative methods of conception, can be assessed.

Another necessary step completed, in the infertility journey!

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