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Unfortunately, in recent years, more and more families have begun to meet in which there are no children. And it’s not because they don’t want to, but because they just can’t. In most cases, women are infertile. Why is this happening? Basically, female infertility develops against the background of pathological processes that affect the fallopian tubes. To diagnose this in time, you need to conduct HSG (hysterosalpingography).
Hysterosalpingography is a method of complete diagnosis of the fallopian tubes. The fallopian tubes are an organ that is an integral part of the reproductive system. Through these tubes, the uterus is connected to the ovaries. When the eggs begin to mature in the ovaries, they need to exit and enter the uterus. This is where the fallopian tubes help.
When a sperm meets an egg, the process of fertilization begins, which takes place in the fallopian tubes.
In order for the entire fertilization process to be successful, it is necessary that the fallopian tubes have the correct patency. Otherwise, the woman will not be able to get pregnant.
The patency of the pipes can be disturbed as a result of many reasons. As a rule, these are inflammatory processes, the formation of adhesions, pathologies of an infectious nature, and many others. When the patency is broken, then the egg does not have the opportunity to go its way and get into the uterine cavity. Because of this, a woman cannot get pregnant.
There is such a thing as an ectopic pregnancy. This happens when the embryo is attached not in the uterus, but outside it, that is, in the fallopian tube. An ectopic pregnancy can also be called tubal. This type of pregnancy does not end with the successful birth of a baby. As a rule, the fallopian tube ruptures after a month of pregnancy. This process is very dangerous for the female body and can lead to irreversible consequences. If a woman cannot become pregnant for a long time, then she is sent for the diagnosis of the fallopian tubes, as this is the main cause of female infertility.
How to Prepare for a Hysterosalpingography
Like any technique, HSG diagnostics has a specific preparation scheme. First of all, two or three days should refrain from intimacy. For a week before the procedure itself, it is necessary to completely abandon soap and other hygiene products. You need to wash yourself only with the help of douching.
Also for 10 days it is necessary to completely stop taking hormonal drugs and vaginal suppositories. An exception may be drugs prescribed by the doctor himself.
In what cases is prohibited
Doctors categorically forbid this procedure for patients during the period of bearing a baby, with an allergic reaction to a contrast agent, as well as for infectious diseases in the uterus or cervix.
Therefore, before prescribing the appropriate procedure to the patient, doctors are obliged to send her to additional diagnostic measures, such as:
- ultrasound examination of the genital organs to exclude or confirm pregnancy;
- general gynecological examination;
- smear from the vagina for bacteriological examination.
Only then can the HSG be performed.
How is hysterosalpingography performed?
The procedure is carried out in a supine position. The woman is first placed on the couch. If an x-ray is shown, then the apparatus is located above the woman’s genitals. If ultrasound is indicated, then the doctor uses a vaginal examination technique.
Vaginal examination takes longer, but according to modern experts, this technique is more informative. Before starting the procedure, it is necessary to treat the female genital organs with a local antiseptic. Not only external, but also internal (vagina and cervix) are processed. Diagnosis is absolutely painless, the only thing that a woman may experience some discomfort at the moment when the doctor inserts the catheter into the vagina. And during the diagnosis itself, some patients experience a pulling pain in the lower abdomen, pain sensations are similar to the period of the menstrual cycle.
The procedure itself is easy, but there are exceptions. For example, if the study is conducted in a woman who has never given birth. In this case, it is difficult for the catheter to move inside the vagina.
If a woman is afraid of discomfort or during the menstrual cycle she has an acute pain syndrome, then she can be given local anesthesia. Often, just before the diagnosis, a woman is offered to take a No-shpy pill to relieve the so-called spasm of the vaginal walls. If during the study the vaginal walls are strongly spasmodic, this may adversely affect the results of the diagnostic measure.
The procedure itself lasts no more than 40 minutes (unless, of course, there are no serious complications). Of these 40 minutes, most of the time is spent on removing the contrast agent from the woman’s body, namely from the fallopian tubes to the abdominal cavity.
At the end of the diagnostic event, the woman remains in the office for some time and lies on the couch. Thus, doctors are reinsured to prevent bleeding. If, after hysterosalpingography, a woman observes spotting from the vagina, then you should not worry – this is a natural process and there is nothing wrong with it.
Complications and consequences
Hysterosalpingography is considered one of the safest procedures, and, as a rule, passes without consequences and complications that can adversely affect the patient’s health.
Very rarely, during the procedure, a woman has a strong allergic reaction to the contrast agent. Therefore, before the diagnostic event, you need to conduct an allergy test.
Rarely enough, but still there are situations such as bleeding. This happens as a result of the fact that during the diagnosis the uterine mucosa was damaged. Therefore, doctors ask the woman to spend some time in the hospital in order to eliminate this problem in time.
Naturally, if a woman has bleeding, then, perhaps, the development of an infectious process will begin.
If you have been unable to conceive a child for a long time, then do not despair – you may have an obstruction of the fallopian tubes. And this problem is solvable.