Objective: To present diagnostic findings and fertility outcome after selective salpingography and tubal catheterization in an unselected infertile population.
Design: Cohort study.
Setting: Tertiary reproductive medicine unit.
Patient(s): One hundred ten consecutive infertile women. No exclusion criteria were applied. Follow-up ranged from 16 to 54 months.
Intervention(s): Selective salpingography and tubal catheterization under fluoroscopic guidance as the primary test for the assessment of the fallopian tubes.
Main outcome measure(s): Incidence of tubal disease at selective salpingography, therapeutic effectiveness of tubal catheterization, and fertility outcome after the procedure.
Result(s): Tubal disease was present in 31.4% of the tubes examined. Of tubes proximally blocked at selective salpingography, 52.1% were found to be normal after tubal catheterization. Proximal tubal blockage (bilateral or unilateral) was detected in 34.8% of women. This was reduced to 5.5% after tubal catheterization. Spontaneous conceptions occurred in 21.9% of the women. In total, 36.2% conceived without IVF or ICSI.
Conclusion(s): Selective salpingography and tubal catheterization can be useful as a primary tubal assessment tool in the investigation of infertility. In cases of proximal tubal blockage, an effective see-and-treat approach can be adopted. More research into the possible therapeutic benefits of the procedure is justified.