Falloposcopic classification and treatment of fallopian tube lumen disease

Abstract

Objective: To devise a diagnostic classification and scoring system for tubal lumen disease based on falloposcopy and to evaluate it against tuboplasty procedures and pregnancy outcomes.

Design: Prospective study approved by the hospital Institutional Review Board.

Setting: Academic tertiary infertility center.

Patients: Seventy-five women with hysterosalpingographic and laparoscopic evidence of endotubal disease had 112 tubes available for falloposcopic evaluation.

Intervention: Diagnostic and operative falloposcopy was performed, when indicated, using aquadissection, flexible wire cannulation, or direct balloon tuboplasty.

Results: The endotubal lumens were considered to be falloposcopically normal in 52 tubes (46%), to contain mild to moderate disease in 33 (29%), and severe to obstructive disease in 27 (25%) cases. Within a year of the procedure, 6 of the 28 women (21%) in whom at least 1 tube was normal conceived, in 2 of 22 (9%) with mild to moderate disease, and in 0 of 16 (0%) with severe endotubal disease.

Conclusions: Falloposcopy provides a visual means of scoring endotubal disease and may be intrinsically therapeutic for dislodging intraluminal debris and breaking down filmy adhesions in normal or minimally diseased tubes. The presence of severe disease remains resistant to the use of current endotuboplasty treatments as reflected by poor pregnancy outcome, and such women should be provided the option of microsurgical tubal repair or in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer procedures.