[Catheterization of the tubal ostium using hysteroscopy under laparoscopic guidance]

It is considered that one out of five couples present a transitory problem of infertility during their reproductive life and the most frequent cause is the tubarian pathology; from these, the proximal obstruction occupies between 25 and 30% of the cases. Unfortunatelly, the conventional method use to study tubarian patency such as histerosalpingography or the direct observation by laparoscopy and selective chromotubation, frequently do not allow to differentiate between an insufficient filling of the tubes, tubarian spasm or a true mechanical obstruction. There are certain selective tubarian cannulation techniques, for example, the catheterism with hysteroscopic guidance which is extremely usefull in the diagnosis of tubarian patency or in the confirmation of partial or total proximal tubal disease. The procedure permits to diagnosticate precisely the tubarian obstruction and also if it is due to the presence of a true pathology or simply functional, or secondary to a tubarian spasm; besides it also works as a therapeutic procedure since in the first case permits the lysis of laxe adherencies and the removal of the amorfus material that obstructs the tube and permits the catheterization. The present study determines the utility of catheterization of the tubarian ostium by hysteroscopy with laparoscopic control using the Novy (Cook, Ob/ Gyn) catheter in patients with infertility problems due to proximal obstruction of one or both of the fallopian tubes, to confirm or discard the presence of a pathological obstruction. The results are evaluated in terms of tubarian permeability and the pregnancy rate after the procedure.