Transcervical balloon tuboplasty

E. Confino, J. Friberg, N. Gleicher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

53 Scopus citations

Abstract

Tubal obstructive disease is the principal cause of 30% to 50% of female infertility. Approximately 33,000 laparotomies were performed during 1983 in the United States in conjunction with microsurgical repair of one or both oviducts. The estimated annual cost of all these procedures is $264 million, taking only doctor's fee and hospital costs into account. Approximately 20% of tubal procedures are performed for occlusion of the proximal (cornual) portion of the fallopian tube. Because success rates with microsurgical repair have varied greatly, in vitro fertilization (IVF) has been suggested as an alternative for at least some microsurgical procedures of the oviduct. However, IVF carries also only a limited success rate and costs are still unacceptably high for many patients. A less invasive and more cost-effective modality for treating tubal infertility therefore appears urgently needed. We developed a new method of transcervical balloon tuboplasty (TBT) in which occluded oviducts are opened in a similar fashion to balloon angioplasty. A prototype TBT catheter was developed with Cook Co., Bloomington, IN, and was initially tested in hysterectomy specimens. This case is a description of the first in vivo transcervical balloon dilatation and recanalization of a proximally occluded fallopian tube in a patient with infertility.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)963-966
Number of pages4
JournalFertility and Sterility
Volume46
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1986

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology

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