Does previous salpingectomy improve implantation and pregnancy rates in patients with severe tubal factor infertility who are undergoing in vitro fertilization? A pilot prospective randomized study

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the implantation rate and pregnancy rate (PR) in patients with severe tubal factor infertility who were undergoing IVF. Patients who had undergone salpingectomy were compared with those who had not.

Design: A prospective randomized study.

Setting: A department of obstetrics and gynecology at a university hospital.

Patient(s): Thirty patients who previously had undergone salpingectomy and 30 patients who had not undergone salpingectomy before IVF treatment.

Intervention(s): Laparoscopy with or without salpingectomy followed by IVF with the use of combined GnRH agonist and hMG therapy in a long stimulation protocol.

Main outcome measure(s): Embryo implantation rate and ongoing PR per transfer. The cumulative PRs were compared for the two groups of patients.

Result(s): After the first IVF attempt, the implantation rate was 10.4% in the group with salpingectomy and 4.6% in the group without salpingectomy. For all IVF attempts, the respective embryo implantation rates in the two groups were 13.4% and 8.6%. The ongoing PR per transfer was 34.2% in the group with salpingectomy compared with 18.7% in the group without salpingectomy. After four IVF attempts, the probability of becoming pregnant was greater in the group of patients with salpingectomy (75%) than in the group without salpingectomy (63%).

Conclusion(s): Previous salpingectomy in patients with severe tubal factor infertility who are undergoing IVF seems to increase the embryo implantation rate and the PR per cycle of IVF. This monocentric study must be followed by other similar studies to allow for a metaanalysis and confirm this clear trend with definitive evidence.