Abstract
Infertility affects approximately 15% of patients worldwide, with up to 40% of cases
attributed to tubal disease, and up to 25% of those being proximal fallopian tube
obstruction (FTO). Evaluation of tubal patency can be performed via laparoscopic chromopertubation,
hysterosalpingography, or hysterosalpingo-contrast-sonography (HyCoSy). In patients
with proximal tubal obstruction, fallopian tube recanalization (FTR) can result in
up to 100% technical success rate with pregnancy rates of 12.8 to 51%. More pregnancies
occur when oil-soluble contrast media are used versus water-soluble contrast media.
Complications of FTR are rare and include tubal perforation, ectopic pregnancy, and
pelvic infection. Reocclusion of fallopian tubes may occur in 20 to 50% of patients;
however, FTR may be repeated in these cases. Overall, FTR is underutilized in the
treatment of infertility secondary to proximal FTO and it can obviate costly and time-consuming
assistive reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization in some patients,
as well as decreasing physical and emotional stress.
Keywords
fallopian tube occlusion - recanalization - tubal infertility - women's health - interventional
radiology
