Hysterosalpingography and Infertility*

Abstract

Gas insufflation of the uterus and fallopian tubes was first performed by the author in 1920. Peterson and Cron in 1923 reported 13 pregnancies in 36 infertile couples, and in 1930, the author reported 10 pregnancies in 53 infertile couples. At this period, the writer became interested in the more exact diagnostic procedure of filling the uterine cavity and tubes with radio‐opaque oil, and found that this was also of great diagnostic and therapeutic value.

Hysterosalpingographic findings in infertile women: A seven year review

“…Although an invasive procedure, hysterosalpingography (HSG) remains an important investigation in the management of infertility, HSG has proven to be an important diagnostic method in clinical gynecology for so many decades and is of particular value in the investigation of the uterine and tubal factors of female infertility. [1] Two common indications for obtaining an HSG are evaluation of tubal patency as part of an infertility workup and of congenital uterine anomalies, [2] thus it remains a reliable test of assessing the uterine cavity and fallopian tubal patency but has low sensitivity for diagnosis of pelvic adhesion. [3] Rare indications include checking the efficacy of tubal sterilization, abnormal uterine bleeding, before artificial insemination to exclude structural abnormalities of the genital tract, assessment of the tube prior to attempted reversal of sterilization, and determining the integrity of a uterine scar following a caesarean section.…”

Therapeutic Value of Hysterosalpingography with Lipiodol Ultra Fluid

“…Many variables apparently account for this discrepancy: the period of infertility, the control period, combined treatment, the type of contrast medium employed, and the selection of patients. In studies in which an oily contrast medium had been used the conception rate was 25 to 78 per cent (3,4,5,8,10,12,15) in comparison with 7 to 14 per cent when water soluble contrast media were used (3, who fulfilled the same selection criteria became pregnant in a 3 month period. We have fixed the waiting time for the HSG examination to three months and recorded how many of the patients who became pregnant in this period.…”