The place of selective hysterosalpingography and tubal canalization among sub-fertile patients diagnosed with proximal tubal occlusion

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of selective salpingography and tubal canalization (TC) procedure among patients diagnosed with proximal tubal occlusion (PTO). Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study on 61 sub-fertile patients aged 32.6 ± 4.9 years that were referred between the years of 2011 and 2013 with the diagnosis of PTO by prior hysterosalpingography. Patients underwent TC and were classified as bilateral PTO or unilateral PTO. Information regarding the patient’s reproductive outcome within the 12 months following the procedure was collected by a telephone survey. Results During the study period, 58/61 (95 %) patients underwent TC, resulting in bilateral open tubes in 54 patients (93.1 %). 53/58 (91.3 %) patients answered our survey. There were 23/53 (43.4 %) patients with a successful procedure who conceived after spontaneous or COH + IUI resulting in 15/23 live births (65.2 %). Conclusion Tubal canalization is a safe and minimally invasive procedure that can be used effectively to restore patency in a proportion of cases of PTO thus avoiding the need for expensive and invasive procedures such as assisted reproductive techniques.