Hysteroscopy in the treatment of female infertility

Hysteroscopy at the Institute of Genetics Reproduction

The plague of the 21st century is not only cancer, but also infertility. The ever-increasing number of women and men who are not able to acquire offspring on their own makes doctors find new methods for diagnosing and treating infertility. If treatment is impossible, there are many ways to get around the disease and enjoy the full joy of fatherhood and motherhood.

Very often, a woman cannot have a baby because her genitals are not functioning properly (for example, due to illness or some physiological disturbance). To find and fix the problem, gynecologists often use a diagnostic and treatment method such as hysteroscopy. Hysteroscopy, in fact, is an examination of the cervical canal using a special tool (hysteroscope).

In what cases does the attending physician recommend this procedure? Note the main ones:

• suspicion of infertility or the inability to fully bear the fetus,
• menstrual irregularities
• suspected uterine tumor or endometrial pathology,
• the presence of intrauterine adhesions

However, the procedure has its contraindications:

• infectious diseases of other organs,
• acute pelvic inflammation,
• the normal course of a long-awaited pregnancy,
• problematic smear, etc.

Since hysteroscopy is a method of diagnosis and treatment, its various goals explain various applications. So, office hysteroscopy does not require any special conditions and can be performed on an outpatient basis. However, such a manipulation will have only a diagnostic purpose. If treatment is necessary, the procedure is performed in the operating room and may require cervical canal expansion and analgesia. In addition, a thorough medical history is collected before the operation and all kinds of examinations and analyzes are performed. The desired duration of the operation, provided that the woman is in reproductive age, is 5-7 days after the start of the menstrual cycle.

All manipulations are carried out only after the patient is immersed in anesthetic sleep. After the expansion of the cervical canal, the hysteroscope is inserted into the uterine cavity. Next, the doctor carefully examines the uterine cavity, the mouth of the fallopian tubes and the canal itself. A biopsy, removal of polyps or myomatous nodes can be performed. At the end of the operation, short-term pains in the lower pelvis can be observed (antispasmodics will help drown them out). About a week, the patient may notice bleeding from the vagina. Usually they are not mobile and soon the body recovers. By the time of the onset of menstruation, no pain, as a rule, arises.