What Are The Surgery Options Related to Infertility in Women?
The inability of a woman to conceive or effectively bring her pregnancy to term is known as infertility. For a variety of reasons, including endometriosis, fibroids, cervical stenosis, ovarian cysts, and others, women experience infertility issues. Although there are surgical methods for addressing female infertility issues, the majority of infertile women choose assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization (IVF) over surgery.
What Are Some Common Situations When Surgery is Required?
There are a few typical circumstances when women with fertility issues might need surgery, and they are as follows:
- Ovarian cysts
- Uterine septum
- Endometriosis
- Uterine polyps
- Pelvic adhesions
- Tubal disease
- Tube ligation
- Uterine fibroids
Why Do Doctors Recommend Surgery for Infertility?
Depending on the severity of the problem, different surgeries are recommended. Laparoscopy and hysteroscopy are typically used by clinicians to treat various problems that cause infertility.
Here are several surgical options:
Laparoscopy: It is a procedure where the fertility specialist uses a narrow fibre optic telescope to introduce into your body through a small incision near the navel. There are many laparoscopic procedures performed for distinct diagnoses and treatments. These are:
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- Tuboplasty: This procedure restores function to a woman’s fallopian tubes to enable conception.
- Endometriosis treatment: Endometriosis frequently results in infertility by causing adhesions between uterus,tubes,ovaries and surrounding structure or by formation of ovarian cysts. A laparoscopic operation can be used to treat the condition.
- Adhesiolysis: Laparoscopy can be used to treat pelvic adhesions when they are diagnosed.
- Myomectomy: The fibroids which are present in the body of uterus can be removed through laparoscopy
- Microsurgical tubal reanastomosis: This microsurgery reconnects the two ends of the fallopian tubes to reverse a tubal ligation.
- Ovarian cystectomy: This surgery is used to remove ovarian cysts that have developed.
- Salpingectomy or Tubal clipping : Salpingectomy is a procedure to remove the fallopian tube and Tubal clipping is done to clip the proximal part of the fallopian tube. These procedures are done in patients with fluid buildup (known as hydrosalpinx) in any one of the fallopian tubes.
- Salpingostomy: The goal of this surgery is to make a fresh opening in the portion of the fallopian tube closest to the ovary.
- Fimbrioplasty: When the portion of the fallopian tube closest to the ovary either develops scar tissues or becomes partially obstructed, this surgery is used to repair the fringed ends of the tube.
All these procedures can be done by laparoscopy or open surgery depending on surgeon expertise and availability of facilities.
Hysteroscopy: Hysteroscopy is done by the fertility specialist using a thin fibre optic telescope to enter into the uterus through the cervix of a woman to look for any abnormality like polyps, fibroid, or adhesions inside the uterus and remove them surgically. The various hysteroscopic procedures include:
- Adhesiolysis: The process of removing adhesions in the uterine cavity.
- Myomectomy: The removal of uterine fibroids present in cavity
- Removing endometrial polyps or uterine septum (septal resection)
These procedures are recommended only after detailed history and examination. With advancement in medical science the option for any invasive procedure is chosen after considering pros and cons of surgery and ART treatment.
Related: How can ICSI help in infertility?
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