The road to parenthood is not as simple as people anticipate it to be, there can be numerous different factors that may keep you from getting pregnant as quickly as you had hoped. According to Gautam Allahbadia, a Reproductive Endocrinologist and IVF Specialist, one potential condition that could be impacting multiple attempts at pregnancy is tubal factor infertility which influences roughly 20 to 25% of couples who are suffering from infertility.
In this condition, the Fallopian tubes could be completely blocked or only one of the tubes is blocked or damaged or there may be some kind of scarring or adhesions, which could in turn prevent pregnancy.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
Unless you have had a tubal ligation — the process of tubal sterilization or in other words, having your tubes tied, which is a common method of birth control, Tubal factor infertility doesn’t have a prominent symptom other than experiencing infertility, which can be hard for women to suspect.
With over 25 years of experience in the field, Dr. Gautam Allahbadia, head of the IVF Team at MMC IVF, Dubai, has explained that doing an Hysterosalpingogram for finding out if the Fallopian Tubes are patient is the basic screening tool at first consultation for an infertile couple. If an infertile patient has been experiencing excruciating pain, abdominal pain, suspected endometriosis or pelvic inflammatory disease her tubes might need to be assessed using diagnostic Laparoscopy.
There are two tests prescribed to diagnose Tubal factor infertility:
Hysterosalpingogram (HSG): HSG is a type of X-ray that uses a radio-opaque iodine based dye that is passed through the cervix and into the fallopian tubes to check whether they are blocked or not. It is also akin to a plumber cleaning pipes and research over the years tell us that even in a patient with normal patent Fallopian Tubes, an HSG procedure enhances fertility in the next 3-6 monthsbecause the injected dye also flushes out micro-plugs of normal secretions.
Laparoscopy: Laparoscopy is a surgical procedure under general anesthesia that is minimally invasive and gives your doctor a more accurate view of the fallopian tubes. The Laparoscope can help the doctor in thoroughly examining the female pelvis and tubes and gaining in-depth 360 degrees information about the pelvis and any disease process contributing to infertility.
Treatment Option
Dr. Gautam Allahbadia, one of India’s finest Reproductive Endocrinologists, states that when trying to conceive, one must weigh all the options comfortably with their doctor in order to decide the most suitable one for them. He also adds that with the advancement in ART, in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is an ideal option for people experiencing infertility due to blocked tubes. IVF is considered to be an only available treatment for this condition. He further advises to have discussions around this technique with the doctor to understand the success rates. It is also imperative to take into account that age factor can influence the success rate of an IVF procedure. So, it is better to go for treatment earlier rather than in an older age group.
You can read more about Dr. Gautam Allahbadia’s patient success stories at www.happinessfinally.com
