Reproductive outcomes of infertile women undergoing “see and treat” office hysteroscopy: a retrospective observational study

Abstract

Introduction

This study aimed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of office hysteroscopy to diagnose and treat the specific uterine pathologies frequently diagnosed and thought to be associated with female infertility.

Material and methods

Using office hysteroscopy, we examined the uterine cavity in women with primary or secondary infertility and evaluated the reproductive outcomes of those affected by one or more pathologies, including cervico-isthmic adhesions, intrauterine polyps and intrauterine adhesions. Additional patient characteristics considered were age and parity, uterine pathology, pain during hysteroscopy, and outcomes including spontaneous pregnancies achieved and time between treatment and pregnancy.

Results

Reproductive outcomes of 200 patients affected by one or more uterine pathologies were evaluated. Cervico-isthmic adhesions were the most frequent findings in older women, with nearly 80% of them achieving pregnancy sooner than the others in our study. Spontaneous pregnancy rates following office hysteroscopy were 76%, 53% and 22% in women with cervico-isthmic adhesions, polyps (< 5 mm) and intrauterine adhesions, respectively.

Conclusions

Office hysteroscopy is a feasible and highly effective diagnostic and therapeutic procedure for cervico-isthmic and intrauterine adhesions, as well as for small polyps, allowing the resolution of female infertility related to these pathologies, without trauma and with only minimal discomfort.

Keywords:

• Office hysteroscopy
• see and treat
• polyps
• intrauterine adhesions
• cervico-isthmic adhesions
• infertility

Declaration of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in relation to this study.