ICSI Pregnancy Outcomes Following Hysteroscopic Tubal Electrocoagulation Versus Laparoscopic Tubal Disconnection for Patients With Hydrosalpinges

Tubal factor of infertility resulting from various forms of tuboperitoneal damage remains an extremely common cause of female infertility, accounting for more than 35% of all cases of female infertility. Probably the most severe form of tubal pathology is hydrosalpinx. Hydrosalpinx is a Greek word that means a Fallopian tube filled with water or fluid. Patients with hydrosalpinges have been identified as a subgroup with significantly lower implantation and pregnancy rates than patients with other tubal pathologies. An increased risk for early pregnancy loss and increased risk for ectopic pregnancies was reported, and many studies confirmed that the presence of hydrosalpinx significantly impairs in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome as well.

Patients with a hydrosalpinx have been found to have significantly poorer outcomes of IVF than do patients with tubal factor infertility but no hydrosalpinx .

Hydrosalpinges in infertile women reduce the success of IVF by 50 % .

The harmful effect of a hydrosalpinx on pregnancy rates after IVF has been attributed to mechanical washout of the transferred embryos by tubal-uterine reflux of the hydrosalpinx fluid .

Additionally, a hydrosalpinx might disturb endometrial receptivity: integrins, the best endometrial markers, show decreased expression in cases of hydrosalpinx .