Chromopertubation

Gone are the days when patients had to bear the pain of an open surgical process. Over time, minimally invasive surgeries such as laparoscopic surgery came into existence. These surgeries have helped the patient recover faster.

Laparoscopy is a type of surgery that utilises small cuts or holes with the help of a slender tool. This tool has a video camera attached to one end. The surgeon inserts it through the small hole or the cuts that have been made into the patient’s body. He or she then monitors the surgery by looking at the video screen. Such minimally invasive surgeries are used for gynaecological operations and gallbladder surgery.

Why are laparoscopic surgeries more beneficial than open surgeries?

Here are few benefits of laparoscopic surgery when compared to traditional surgery:

It involves fewer cuts and bruises
The scars are smaller
The patients are discharged quicker
The pain is lesser and the healing process is quicker
The patients can return to their routines sooner
Internal scarring is lesser

Laparoscopic surgery in gynaecological treatments such as chromopertubation

The availability of advanced reproductive medical technology has lessened the requirement of surgical treatment for infertility. Whenever a fertility surgery has to be performed, doctors suggest that the patient must opt for an operative laparoscopy instead of an open laparotomy. The reason behind this is the lower ileus incidence, shorter hospital stay, and faster recovery.

Diagnostic laparoscopy is most apt for reproductive-related issues. This type of surgery is quite useful in the evaluation of infertility of young women with a medical history of ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory diseases, or chronic pelvic pain.

When the laparoscopy is performed for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes in women suffering from infertility, Chromopertubation is often performed for assessing the tubal patency.

Chromopertubation is a medical procedure wherein a blue-dyed solution is injected inside the fallopian tubes for determining any blockage.

What happens during the Chromopertubation process?

During the surgical procedure, a camera with a device is placed in the abdominal cavity. An incision is made under the navel for equipping the device. With this camera-fitted device, the doctors can see the fallopian tube. A device named a uterine manipulator is also placed through the cervix and vagina into the uterus.

The blue dye can then be injected through the catheter into the tubes and uterus which is observed through the help of a laparoscope camera. The doctors then check if the dye is coming out of the other end of the tube or not. If the dye does come out of the other end, it implies that there is no blockage. But if the dye does not come out, then there could be certain issues such as blockage, endometriosis, or scarring.

Chromopertubation is performed for determining the cause of difficulty in conceiving during an infertility evaluation. A blockage in the fallopian tube does not allow the eggs to pass from the ovaries to the uterus. Thus, the sperm is unable to reach the ovaries and thus cannot result in pregnancy.

Types of surgical chromopertubation treatment

If there was any blockage detected during the chromopertubation process, then here are a few treatment options that the doctor recommends:

Fallopian tube removal

During the chromopertubation process, if the surgeon is convinced that the tubes are internally damaged, then he or she might remove the tube as it can never function normally. The removal of the tubes does not, however, mean that the patient cannot get pregnant. In such situations, the patient needs to undergo an IVF, also known as the In-Vitro Fertilization treatment for conceiving. In the IVF process, the tubes are bypassed, allowing the sperms and eggs to meet in the lab dish. The resultant embryo is then placed in the uterus directly.

Tube resection

In the tube resection process, the surgeon corrects the blockage through laparoscopic surgery. It is possible to reset the endometriosis or adhesions which may be the main cause of tube blockage. However, resecting the blocked tubes does not guarantee the return of fertility. Often the procedure leads to a lot of damage inside the tube that cannot be repaired. The damage in the tubes could occur due to some pressure that has been built up within the tube wall or the blockage. As per the surgeons, even when the tube is resecting during the surgery, it may not work in the long run due to the scars during the healing process.

Risk factors associated with Chromopertubation

Although chromopertubation is a minimally invasive surgery, it requires anaesthesia because of which carries some side effects or risks. These include nerve damage, blood loss, injury to other organs inside the abdomen, formation of blood clots, allergic reactions due to anaesthesia. The other side effects include shoulder pain. This is because of a gas that gets infused into the patient’s abdomen during the surgical process. This gas causes after-effects like shoulder pain because the shoulder is the place where the body perceives the gas pressure.

Contact the best specialist for a checkup today

Chromopertubation surgery helps the doctors diagnose the blockages with ease and accuracy as well as have a deeper look at the fallopian tubes. Unlike other procedures, it allows the surgeons to attempt a tube resection along with the same surgical process.

However, if someone has an allergic reaction to anaesthesia or has any previous surgical complications, then they could avoid the Chromopertubation surgical process and try other non-surgical treatments such as Hysterosalpingogram or Sonosalpingography.

At Dr Komala’s Women’s Clinic, you can get the best possible treatments for complicated gynaecological disorders and enjoy a disease-free life. Contact us today and book your appointment.