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What is hydrosalpinx?
This is a disease caused by an infection of one or both fallopian tubes, also called the uterine tubes. It is in these ducts, which can measure up to 14 centimeters in length, that fertilization is generally carried out.
In a woman with hydrosalpinx, the tube that connects the uterus to the ovaries is blocked with a buildup of fluid due to the infection. Fertilization is therefore impossible: the egg is lost and the sperm cannot reach the fusion zone.
If this dysfunction affects only one tube, the meeting between the egg and the sperm is still possible if the second tube is functioning normally. If both uterine ducts are affected, we will speak of tubal sterility.
What are the symptoms of a blocked proboscis and hydrosalpinx?
After about a month, if the infection in the fallopian tubes is left untreated, it can turn into hydrosalpinx. Most often asymptomatic, it can go unnoticed for several years and thus cause tubal infertility. It is usually during a desire for a child and a fertility check that the diagnosis is made.
Signs that can alert:
- Painful intercourse in women
- A painful pelvis
- A feeling of compression in the pelvis
- Frequent need to urinate
It is especially salpingitis, the infection responsible for hydrosalpinx, which can cause visible symptoms:
- Pain in the lower abdomen
- Fever
- Frequent need to urinate and pain when urinating
- Nausea
- Bleeding outside of your period
- Yellow and abundant discharge
The causes of hydrosalpinx
Hydrosalpinx is usually caused by an STI – a sexually transmitted infection – such as chlamydia or gonococcus, which causes salpingitis, which is an infection of the tubes. Left untreated, salpingitis can cause hydrosalpinx.
Other causes are put forward in the appearance of this pathology:
- Abdomen surgery
- endometriosis
- Intrauterine contraception such as the IUD
How to treat hydrosalpinx?
Micro-surgery has long been one of the most widely considered solutions for unblocking the fallopian tube (s) and giving them a funnel shape to allow fertilization.
Today, it is not uncommon for specialists to turn directly to a IVF – In vitro fertilization – to allow the couple to conceive a child. The tube (s) showing an infection are then removed in most cases, in order to limit the risk of a new infection.
If salpingitis is discovered in time – that is, before it degenerates and turns into hydrosalpinx – drug treatment with antibiotics may be sufficient to treat the infection. Hospitalization may also be necessary if the patient is in pain and in order to administer the treatment by venous infusion.
What are the consequences of hydrosalpinx on fertility?
If the salpingitis is treated quickly and the antibiotics are effective, the fallopian tubes will be able to function normally afterwards. It all depends on the virulence of the infection and the initiation of treatment.
When the hydrosalpinx is installed and the tubes are completely blocked, their removal will be considered. IVF will then be an effective alternative to conceive a baby.