Many women who struggle to get pregnant suffer full or partial tubal blockage. In fact, tubal blockage accounts for about a quarter of all infertility cases.
“They have to be open they have to be free of debris and accessible so that’s why they’re so important,” says Dr. Cherrie Morris, who is an OB-GYN with Lee Memorial Health System.
Traditionally, an X-ray HSG is used to determine whether fallopian tubes are open. Performed in a radiology center, dye is released through a catheter into the tubes. Many women find it unnerving and uncomfortable. A newer alternative is the FemVue procedure. It does the same thing in a doctor’s office, and uses tiny bubbles instead.
“It uses a mixture of sterile saline and little tiny air bubbles. We can use ultrasound to see where those little effervescent bubbles are going and we can actually follow them through the fallopian tubes,” says Dr. Morris.
The procedure usually takes between 10 to 30 minutes and the results are available immediately. If your physician determines your tubes are blocked it’s important to realize that there are ways to overcome the problem and still get pregnant.
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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