Infertility

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The diagnosis of uterine and/or tubal pathology as causes of female infertility represents a fundamental step in the evaluation of the infertile couple. Apart from the invasive diagnostic procedures, several others diagnostic techniques useful to the clinical evaluation of the uterine cavity and tubal anatomy are: transvaginal sonography (TVS), hysterosalpingography (HSG), hysteroscopy and hydrosonography (HDS) and laparoscopy.

The role of reproductive surgery has been questioned in the current environment of improving techniques and success rates with in vitro fertilization (IVF). Another emerging obstacle is the declining number of these types of surgeries being performed in response to the increasing numbers of patients opting for IVF.

Since the first laparoscopy was performed in humans by Jacobaeus in 1910, great strides have been made by surgeons in utilizing this valuable tool.1 Unfortunately, the expense of performing even diagnostic laparoscopy has become prohibitive. With the high cost of medical care, measures must be taken to decrease this monumental problem. For years, laparoscopy has been performed under local anesthesia with minimal reported complications.

Uterine myomas are the most common tumors of the female genital tract. = Hysterectomy has been a very common therapy in patients who have completed reproduction. In fact, uterine myomas = account for 20% of the 650,000 hysterectomies performed annually in the United States. Interest in uterine = preservation and organ preserving surgery through techniques of minimally invasive surgery has increased since the first = reports of laparoscopic myomectomy in 1980.

Laparoscopic urinary bladder surgery primarily involves retropubic bladder neck suspension procedures. Because variations of the laparoscopic Burch procedure (Tanagho, Hodgkinson) are most frequently performed, this chapter will focus on the complications of the laparoscopic Burch procedure - avoidance, recognition, and treatment.

Over the past decade, a technique has been developed that can reduce or stop your periods without a hysterectomy. This surgery can be done in women who have flooding either with or without fibroid tumors. Dr. Dott was one of the surgeons who introduced this minimally invasive procedure in Atlanta. He has performed this procedure many times and is certified by the Accreditation Council for Gynecological Endoscopy in Advanced Hysteroscopic Surgery. He has taught this procedure in training institutions both in the United States and Russia.

Endometriosis is a gynecological disease affecting women in their reproductive years. The reported incidence of endometriosis among infertile women is 20-50%, and 39-59% among those with pelvic pain. This is in contrast to 15-18% incidental findings of endometriosis among women undergoing tubal sterilization. The question of whether endometriosis causes infertility has been a subject of debate for many years. In this review, the association between infertility and endometriosis and the treatment are discussed.

Transvaginal hydro laparoscopy (THL) is a new approach to pelvic anatomic evaluation in the infertile woman. In this procedure a dilating trocar is inserted through the osterior vaginal wall for endoscopic pelvic examination. Normal saline is used to float the bowel out of the pelvis so that one can evaluate the distal Fallopian tubes, ovarian surfaces, pelvic sidewalls, and the cul-de-sac. The THL procedure makes in-office pelvic endoscopy, hysteroscopy, and dye hydrotubation a reality.

Hysteroscopy performed with liquid media at a sufficient pressure, usually between 70 mm and 90 mm Hg of true intrauterine pressure, will bring about satisfactory uterine distention, but not necessarily adequate visualization. Depending on the amount of intraoperative bleeding, an adequate flow rate of the media with separate channels of entry and egress is necessary to have a clear operative field.

The first use of hysteroscopy as a diagnostic tool occurred in 1869 by Pantaleoni who used a tube with an external light source to detect “vegetations in the uterine cavity.”[1] Since that time, improvements in optics, light sources and video cameras have made office hysteroscopy an invaluable tool in the diagnosis of abnormal uterine bleeding. Additionally, the office hysteroscope has the potential for use in treatment of certain disorders of the uterine cavity.

Laparoscopy has revolutionized the practice of modern operative gynecology and has progressed from simple diagnostic work to advanced operative procedures.[

Introduction: Intestinal endometriosis is a disabling disease present in 6% to 30% of deep endometriosis cases. It can be the cause of abdominal bloating, constipation, intestinal cramping and painful bowel movements, defecation pain and intestinal stenosis up to intestinal occlusion. Colorectal endometriosis requires surgical treatment that can be performed by abdominal route or by laparoscopy. The present study describes the total laparoscopic rectosigmoid resection in case of deep endometriosis with bowel involvement.

The patient was a 30 year old female patient, para 0, who was diagnosed to have a cervical adenocarcinoma on a screening PAP smear. A subsequent endocervical curettage revealed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with focal invasion. She underwent a cone biopsy and a repeated endocervical curettage which revealed an adenocarcinoma in situ with two foci of microinvasion consisting with a Stage IA2 lesion.

To interpret the literature describing the results of surgery for endometriosis, a clear understanding of the evolution and limitations of the various techniques is necessary. Up to the end of the 1970’s, minimal and mild endometriosis was destroyed endoscopically by heat application (endothermia) and by unipolar or bipolar coagulation. Treatment of more severe endometriotic disease was mostly radical by hysterectomy, often leaving some rectovaginal endometriosis which has not been fully recognised before 1989.

Endometriosis can infiltrate the surrounding tissues resulting in an important sclerotic, and inflammatory reaction which can translate clinically in nodularity, bowel stenosis and ureteral obstruction. The most severe forms such as rectovaginal endometriosis and endometriosis invading the rectum or the sigmoid have been known since the beginning of this century. These conditions, however, are relatively rare with an estimated prevalence of less than 1%.

Laparoscopy, looking inside the abdomen through a tube placed through a small incision, is a procedure commonly used by gynecologists to diagnose and treat a number of medical conditions. Since the early 1900's when rudimentary laparoscopes were used to visualize, but not treat, abdominal diseases, advancements in this technique have led to the ability to perform complex surgical procedures through a few small incisions, rather than the larger incisions used in the past.

Most patients with endometriosis do not have intestinal (GI) involvement. Among the difficult cases of endometriosis I see from around the world, only 27% have GI involvement. Since over 1900 patients with endometriosis have undergone surgery at St. Charles, that means I’ve operated on over 500 patients with GI involvement. The symptoms of GI involvement depend on the severity and location of the disease. The severity of disease depends on the depth of invasion into the bowel wall.