Hysterosalpingo-foam sonography (HyFoSy) in the evaluation of tubal patency

Abstract

Women’s infertility represents a public health issue as the birth rate in many countries is more and more diminished. At present, there are many investigation procedures for tubal patency with high accuracy that dictate the further management of infertility cases: hysterosalpingography, hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography, chromopertubation testing during laparoscopy (dye test), magnetic resonance-hysterosalpingography. The traditional gold standard in fertility investigation is represented by laparoscopy with chromopertubation testing, which carries the risk of surgical and anesthesia complications, being a procedure performed as inpatient and the costs are elevated. As ultrasonographic techniques advanced, there has been developed hysterosalpingo-foam sonography, a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure, with imperceptible risks or complications, which simultaneously imports valuable information about the uterine cavity and the tubal patency to the sonographer. Our aim in this paper is to present the statistical results existing in the literature concerning the accuracy of hysteronsalpingo-foam sonography (HyFoSy) in relation to the other examination methods, as well as its advantages.