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Transvaginal uterine cervical dilation with fluoroscopic guidance: preliminary results in patients with infertility
K W Dickey1, T G Zreik, H C Hsia
1Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
Purpose:
To assess efficacy of uterine cervical dilation performed with fluoroscopic guidance to treat patients with infertility who have cervical stenosis, false channels within the endocervical canal, or both.
Materials And Methods:
Fifteen patients in whom infertility was diagnosed were referred because the uterine lumen could not be accessed. Three of the patients had endometriosis. With fluoroscopic guidance, the cervix was cannulated and the endocervical canal was dilated with an angioplasty balloon or with dilators. Five patients underwent simultaneous fallopian tube recanalization. Five of 15 patients who underwent dilation subsequently underwent in vitro fertilization for embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or intrauterine insemination.
Results:
Four patients became pregnant. Of those four, one underwent IVF-ET and one underwent intrauterine insemination. Two patients became pregnant spontaneously. In the five patients who underwent IVF-ET or intrauterine insemination and in the remaining eight patients, the cervix could be easily cannulated up to 7 months after dilation.
Conclusion:
Dilation of the uterine cervix may provide options for treatment in selected patients with infertility. The effect of dilation on patients with other sequelae of cervical obstruction such as endometriosis remains uncertain.