Renaissance of Surgical Recanalization for Proximal Fallopian Tubal Occlusion: Falloposcopic Tuboplasty as a Promising Therapeutic Option in Tubal Infertility

Abstract

Study Objective To assess the clinical effectiveness of falloposcopic tuboplasty in tubal infertility. Design Retrospective cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II-3). Setting Infertility clinic. Patients Three hundred forty-five infertile patients (≥2y) with a diagnosis of proximal tubal occlusion, either bilateral or unilateral, between January 2005 and January 2011. Intervention Falloposcopic tuboplasty. Measurements and Main Results Medical records for 345 patients with a diagnosis of proximal tubal occlusion were reviewed. Of the 345 patients, 304 underwent falloposcopic tuboplasty, with successful recanalization achieved in 248 patients (81.6%). Ninety-one of the 304 patients (29.9%) became pregnant. Of these, 18 patients (19.8%) miscarried, and 4 (4.4%) had ectopic pregnancies in the recanalized tube. At 1-, 3-, 6-, and 9-month follow-up, the cumulative probability of conception was 23.1%, 50.6%, 73.6%, and 82.4%, respectively. Related complications included postsurgical infection (0.3%), perforation of the fallopian tube (1.3%), and accidental breakage of the catheter (4.9%) or the falloposcope (1.3%). Conclusions Falloposcopic tuboplasty is safe and effective for treatment of tubal infertility. The pregnancy rate after falloposcopic tuboplasty is comparable to that after in vitro fertilization, which suggests that it can be an alternative to in vitro fertilization in women with tubal infertility.