Bicornuate Uterus Symptoms

What is a bicornuate uterus? A uterus is supposed to have only one chamber. When it has two champers or horns, it is known as bicornuate uterus. Such a uterus is either Y-shaped or heart-shaped. It is the result of fusion anomaly of the mullerian ducts during embryogenesis.

Normally, when the embryo is 10-18 weeks of a gestational age, the paired mullerian ducts fuse in the midline to form the uterine cavity, cervix, fallopian tubes and two-third of the vagina. If the fusion occurs incompletely and creates two separate chambers right above the internal os level, bicornuate uterus is formed. The paramesonephric ducts fuse near their juncture with the posterior wall of the primitive urogenital sinus to form the uterus and the superior end of the vagina. Bicornuate uterus is estimated to have an incidence of 0.6% all over the world.

Symptoms of Bicornuate Uterus

There are numerous female reproductive system anatomic anomalies associated with bicornuate uterus. Such a defective uterus occurs when the improper fusion is restricted to the superior portion of the uterine body. As a result a constricted environment is produced, which further leads to anomalousness of the limbs. It may be due to both the compression of the fetus by the uterine wall and the indirect consequence of the compression occurring due to disruption of vascular vessels.

Some symptoms of this medical condition experienced by the woman are heavy or irregular menstruation, abdominal pain, and painful ovulation. Bicornuate uterus may or may not cause infertility. However, it can make getting pregnancy difficult. It can put the woman into a high-risk category if she happens to conceive.The worst result of bicornuate uterus are miscarriage in the first trimester and preterm labor. There is a wide range of urinary system disorders resulting from bicornuate uterus. They include exstrophy (inversion of a hollow organ at birth), renal and cloacal abnormalities.

Bicornuate Uterus Diagnosis

The woman is usually asymptomatic for this particular medical condition. The symptoms of bicornuate uterus become noticeable during pregnancy or childbirth. This is the reason why it remains undetected and untreated till the woman gets pregnant. The diagnosis of the bicornuate uterus complications involve a number of diagnostic techniques. Some of the commonly used ones are mentioned below.

Pelvic Exam: The diagnosis of the bicornuate uterus starts with the examination of the pelvis. The doctor is mostly able to feel the two horns.

Laparoscopy: Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgery wherein a small cut is made in the abdominal cavity to insert an instrument called laparoscope so as to see the internal structures on a television screen. In case of bicornuate uterus, it is used to gather information on the exterior shape of the uterus.

Gynecologic Sonogram: Gynecologic sonogram is an imaging technique which uses ultrasound to visualize the internal body structure or a developing fetus. It aids in the diagnosis of a bicornuate uterus.

Hysteroscopy: Hysteroscopy is a diagnostic procedure in which a viewing tube in inserted into the vagina up through the cervix into the uterus to see its inside. It provide information on the interior configuration of the uterus.

Hysterosalpingography: Hystero means uterus while salpingo means tubes. Thus, the literal meaning of the term hysterosalpingography is taking photographs of the uterus and fallopian tubes. It is also referred to as hysterography. This diagnostic technique provides almost confirmatory information about the abnormalities of the uterus such as bicornuate uterus.

Bicornuate Uterus Treatment

The treatment of bicornuate uterus is possible with surgical correction of the uterus. The technique which is used to meet the purpose is called metroplasty. It involves a transverse fundal incision into the separate cavity of the uterus. It is followed by a subsequent reconstruction of a vertical incision in the form of a layered closure. It is somewhat similar to the closure of a classic cut made during a cesarean section.

As has already been mentioned that women generally don't realize that they have a bicornuate uterus until they get or try to get pregnant. If such a woman happens to get pregnant, she is usually put into a high-risk group. Therefore, it is very important that bicornuate uterus be diagnosed before it leads to occurrence of any sort of problems. If you notice the presence of the bicornuate uterus symptoms in yourself, do consider visiting a clinician and get diagnosed. Timely and proper surgical treatment will help you enjoy womanhood and life.