Proximal fallopian tube occlusion: diagnosis and treatment with transcervical fallopian tube catheterization

Transcervical fallopian tube catheterization (TFTC) was performed in 22 infertile patients with bilateral fallopian tube obstruction and a mean duration of infertility of 3.3 years. A high prevalence of previous ectopic pregnancy (n = 8, 36%), tubal ligation and/or reconstruction (n = 5, 23%), spontaneous or therapeutic abortion (n = 6, 27%), and previous intrauterine device use (n = 14, 64%) was noted. The authors successfully catheterized 40 (98%) of 41 tubes without serious complication and visualized the distal tube in 36 (88%) of 41 tubes. Free spill in at least one tube was seen in 17 (77%) of 22 patients. Nineteen patients had a history of previous laparoscopy or laparotomy for tubal disease, in 16 of whom laparoscopic results were available for review. Retrospectively, in 15 (94%) of 16 patients all clinically relevant abnormalities would have been detected by means of TFTC alone. Five patients conceived, three with intrauterine and two with ectopic pregnancies. Patients with intrauterine pregnancies had normal-appearing tubes after TFTC, while those with ectopic pregnancies had residual tubal abnormalities after recanalization. TFTC is a safe, accurate diagnostic procedure that provides more information than hysterosalpingography and, in most cases, as much or more information about the fallopian tubes than laparoscopy.