INTRODUCTION
A complete examination of a woman’s internal pelvic structures can provide important information regarding infertility and common gynecologic disorders. Frequently, problems that cannot be discovered by an external physical examination can be discovered by laparoscopy and hysteroscopy, two procedures that provide a direct look at the pelvic organs. These procedures may be recommended as part of your infertility care, depending on your particular situation. Laparoscopy and hysteroscopy can be used for both diagnostic (looking only) and operative (looking and treating) purposes.
OPERATIVE LAPAROSCOPY
During operative laparoscopy, many abdominal disorders can be treated safely through the laparoscope at the same time that the diagnosis is made. When performing operative laparoscopy, the physician inserts additional instruments such as probes, scissors, grasping instruments, biopsy forceps, electrosurgical or laser instruments, and suture materials through two or three additional incisions. Lasers, while a significant help in certain operations, are expensive and are not necessarily better or more effective than other surgical techniques used during operative laparoscopy. The choice of technique and instruments depends on many factors including the physician’s experience, location of the problem, and availability of equipment. Some problems that can be corrected with operative laparoscopy include removing adhesions (scar tissue)from around the fallopian tubes and ovaries, opening blocked tubes, removing ovarian cysts, and treating ectopic pregnancy. Endometriosis can also be removed or ablated from the outside of the uterus, ovaries or peritoneum. Under certain circumstances, fibroids on the uterus can also be removed. Operative laparoscopy can also be used to remove diseased ovaries and can be performed as part of a hysterectomy.
OPERATIVE HYSTEROSCOPY
Operative hysteroscopy can treat many of the abnormalities found during diagnostic hysteroscopy. Operative hysteroscopy is similar to diagnostic hysteroscopy except that narrow instruments are placed into the uterine cavity through a channel in the operative hysteroscope. Fibroids, scar tissue, and polyps can be removed from inside the uterus. Some structural abnormalities, such as a uterine septum, may be corrected through the hysteroscope.
Your physician may want you to take medications to prepare the uterus for surgery. At the conclusion of surgery, your physician may insert a balloon catheter or other device inside the uterus. Antibiotics and/or estrogen may be prescribed after some types of uterine surgery to prevent infection and stimulate healing of the endometrium. Endometrial ablation, a procedure in which the lining of the uterus is destroyed, can be used to treat some cases of excessive uterine bleeding. Ablation of the uterine lining is not performed in women who wish to become pregnant. For more information on this topic, please refer to the ASRM’s Patient Fact Sheet Endometrial Ablation.
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