Blocked Fallopian Tubes - How To Fix Tubal Blockage?

There may be several reasons why a woman may find it difficult to conceive. One of the most common reasons of all is that she has blocked fallopian tubes. In fact in the US today there are more than 6 million couples whose chances of being able to conceive are reduced because of one or both being infertile. Of these 6 million around 1 million are unable to have children because the woman has some form of tubal disease which has resulted in her having a tubal blockage.

The most common cause for blocked fallopian tubes in women these days is that they have contracted PID (pelvic inflammatory disease). However, there are some ways of actually treating this condition and often it may require the woman to undergo tubal surgery, which will help to clear the blockage. There are three types of reconstructive tubal surgery used today that will help to remove such blockages and so increase the chances of the woman getting pregnant naturally.

In this article we take a quick look at the types of surgery used today in order to deal with blocked fallopian tubes.

Technique 1 – Tubal Anastomosis

With this particular form of surgery, after the blocked ends of the fallopian tubes are opened, a very narrow and flexible stent is threaded very gently through the tubes cavity. By doing this the surgeon is ensuring that the fallopian tubes will remain open from the uterine cavity through to the fimbrial end near the ovary. After making a new tubal opening, they are drawn towards each other using a retention suture which allows the connective tissue on both sides lying beneath the fallopian tubes to come together. Then once the new ends of the fallopian tube have been drawn together and the blockage has been removed, the stent will be gently withdrawn from the fimbrial end.

Technique 2 – Microsurgical Tubal Implantation

This particular form of surgery will often be carried out if only the distal portion of the fallopian tubes is available and there is no proximal tubal opening into the woman’s uterus. A surgeon will carry out this procedure to create a new opening through the uterine muscle and then the remaining tubal segment will be inserted into the cavity of the uterus.

Technique 3 – Fimbriectomy Reversal

One needs to be aware that with this form of surgery, the original fimbriectomy, both the fimbrial and infundibular portions of the fallopian tubes that are next to the ovaries are removed. The reversal surgery is also known as microsurgical salpingostomy and helps to create a new but small opening into the remaining end of a woman’s blocked fallopian tubes. A microsurgical electrode needle is used in order to perform this particular operation. After the new opening has been created in the fallopian tube, surgery is carried out to enlarge it and the ends are then gently folded back. This way, the new tubal opening will be able to capture the eggs as they are released from the ovaries and propel them in the tubes just as if the woman still had the fimbrial end.

With these forms of surgery carried out on women who have been found to have blocked fallopian tubes, the chances of them getting pregnant are greatly increased. In fact, with the final form of surgery as done by one leading tubal surgeon, it been found that around 40% of all women who have undergone it have been able to conceive within the first year. Provided the disease which may have caused the blocked fallopian tubes initially, the other techniques have an even better chance for conception especially as compared to other forms of treating tubal blockage.

To learn more about these methods of unblocking blocked fallopian tubes, please visit the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center where they not only reverse tubal ligation but repair tubal blockage caused by disease as well.