Patient's question:
Please ask about the pathology of fallopian tube blockage and how to diagnose whether the fallopian tubes are blocked. How reliable is the hydrotubation examination? Because I often hear about medical accidents where inflammation occurs after the examination, even leading to the removal of the fallopian tubes.Doctor's answer:
Hello: Hydrotubation is only used for general screening in hospital outpatient clinics. Due to its simple equipment, easy operation, and low cost, this method was widely applied before the 1980s. However, in clinical practice, it was found to have a high rate of misdiagnosis, over 50%. It cannot determine the location of fallopian tube blockage, nor can it clearly identify the severity and nature of the blockage, and it carries the risk of causing severe bleeding, such as that seen in ectopic pregnancy, due to fallopian tube rupture. Clarifying the location and nature of fallopian tube blockage is key to determining treatment methods and evaluating efficacy. This examination method has now been abandoned in infertility specialty clinics that have the necessary conditions. If a patient has adhesions at the fimbriae of the fallopian tubes or hydrosalpinx, hydrotubation cannot reveal these conditions! The most effective method is fallopian tube.There was a patient who had undergone an abortion and had been unable to conceive. All her tests were normal, and hydrotubation was successful, but we recommended she undergo. She was reluctant, but after the results came back, one fallopian tube had adhesions at the fimbriae, and the other had hydrosalpinx. The likelihood of pregnancy on the side with adhesions was extremely low. Therefore: Hydrotubation does not necessarily mean the fallopian tubes are healthy. To make a definitive diagnosis, is still necessary.
Additionally: Some patients with a history of IUD insertion or abortion may develop immunological infertility, so it is necessary to test for antisperm antibodies and antieruminal antibodies. Another common reason is that the male partner's sperm does not meet the required standards.