Hydrosalpinx
(from the Greek = “water tube”)
HSG shows a swollen tube,indicating a hydrosalpinx
Hydrosalpinx (shown at the left side of this drawing) is a collection of watery fluid within the fallopian tube, usually as a result of damage at the far (distal) end of the tube, near the ovary. The fluid, a normal secretion of the tubal glands, pools in the damaged tube causing it to swell or dilate. Hydrosalpinx (plural = hydrosalpinges) generally forms as the result of a prior infection (e.g. chlamydia or other sexually transmitted disease) of the pelvic region. Abortion, intrauterine devices (IUD), endometriosis, abdominal surgery and even childbirth may play a role in hydrosalpinx formation. Whereas some women with a hydrosalpinx display no symptoms, many suffer from severe, chronic pain.
Infertility and hydrosalpinx
Hydrosalpinx is a serious threat to fertility. It not only renders the affected tube(s) totally ineffective, it may also lessen the effectiveness of various infertility treatments (e.g. in vitro fertilization [IVF]). Hydrosalpinx also increases the likelihood of miscarriage since fluid spilling into the uterus decreases the chances for successful embryo implantation. Thus, fertility specialists often advise patients to have the tube(s) removed prior to undergoing IVF. Moreover, a hydrosalpinx in one tube often affects the other, resulting in two abnormal tubes.
Diagnosing hydrosalpinx
Diagnosis is made by ultrasound, hysterosalpingogram (HSG), or laparoscopy.
- Ultrasound , which uses sound waves to image the fallopian tubes, is often the first choice for preliminary diagnosis. The procedure is usually done vaginally and is the safest and most comfortable of the three options.
- An HSG involves inserting dye into the uterus through the cervix. The dye, visible in an X-ray, will show blockages of the fallopian tubes and any deformation of the tube, indicating a hydrosalpinx. [Note: Concerns with this method include the introduction of infection-causing bacteria (rare) and short-term moderate discomfort during and after the procedure.]
- Laparoscopic surgery provides the most definitive diagnosis of hydrosalpinx, but it is also the most invasive of the three procedures. The surgeon makes a small abdominal incision and inserts a camera into the abdominal cavity. Since surgery and anesthesia entail certain dangers, this technique is usually reserved for diagnosis with a planned treatment. Surgical treatment of hydrosalpinx may open a tube, but most reproductive endocrinologists consider a tube with a hydrosalpinx to be permanently damaged, with the ongoing threat of ectopic pregnancy for the mother. More and more, surgeons tend to remove any tube that has a hydrosalpinx.
Treating hydrosalpinx surgically
Neosalpingostomy (surgery that incises the hydrosalpinx and leaves an opening in the tube) is another surgical option. The tube, however, often closes again enabling the hydrosalpinx to return. The most positive results are obtained with younger women and women with small hydrosalpinges. For others, the preferred treatment is usually total removal of the tube prior to IVF.
Treating hydrosalpinx non-surgically (Clear Passage Therapies ®)
Clear Passage’s non-surgical infertility treatment uses pelvic physical therapy to decrease the adhesions causing tubal damage and hydrosalpinx. Once mobility is restored, the previously blocked tube(s) often regains normal function, creating a free path for conception to occur.
This therapy has been shown to open tubes
and return the ability
to conceive naturally for women
with hydrosalpinx (left) and
blocked fallopian tubes (right)
regardless of
the location of the blockage. 1,2
1 Fertility and Sterility, Sept, 2006
2 Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Jan, 2008
Our initial success rates opening hydrosalpinges are very promising, and of interest to reproductive physicians and surgeons. Recently, Clear Passage Therapies was honored by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) who invited us to present abstracts of three studies to their several thousand members. One of these study abstracts, published in Fertility and Sterility (9/2006) examines our ability to open totally blocked fallopian tubes, with subsequent natural pregnancies and births, in women with hydrosalpinx.
While the number of participants in this study are small, the results are considered important enough to publish in one of the most prestigious reproductive medicine journals in the world.
The abstract examined eight women who had confirmed bilateral tubal occlusion (diagnosed by hysterosalpingogram). Each also had the additional complication of hydrosalpinx. The women were then treated with the Clear Passage 20-hour protocol of pelvic physical therapy.
After therapy, 50% of the patients (4/8) had at least one tube opened by the therapy and half of those became pregnant naturally. One of the participants has already had a second natural pregnancy and birth; another had a successful post-therapy IVF, followed by a post-therapy natural pregnancy and birth. We, and many physicians are very encouraged by these findings.
