Tag Archive for hydrosalpinx

Clear Passage Helped This Couple

December 21, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments


Following a positive diagnosis of a hydrosalpinx by HSG, this couple traveled to Clear Passage’s National Headquarters in Gainesville, Florida in search of a less invasive treatment for their infertility. Watch their story in the clip above to hear how they eventually overcame their infertility struggles.

What Exactly is A Hydrosalpinx?

A hydrosalpinx is a collection of watery fluid within the fallopian tube, usually as a result of damage at the distal (far) end of the tube, near the ovary. It not only renders the affected tube(s) totally ineffective, it may also lessen the effectiveness of various infertility treatments (e.g. in vitro fertilization [IVF]).

Diagnosis can be made by ultrasound, hysterosalpingogram (HSG), laparoscopy or laparotomy (open surgery). Many couples face infertility following the diagnosis of a hydrosalpinx.

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Treating Hydrosalpinx Infertility

April 13, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

What is a hydrosalpinx?

Hydrosalpinx is a collection of watery fluid within the fallopian tube, usually as a result of damage at the distal (far) end of the tube, near the ovary.

How does a hydrosalpinx form?

Just as your knee might swell when it is damaged or inflamed, the fluid pools in the damaged tube causing it to swell or dilate, as a natural part of healing from inflammation. Whether from a prior surgery, an inflammation or an infection, the delicate geography of the pelvis responds to these traumas by forming adhesions and often times a hydrosalpinx.


How does hydrosalpinx cause infertility?

In most cases, a hydrosalpinx indicates that the fallopian tube is totally blocked at the far end. There, the delicate flower petal-like fimbriae which are designed to grasp the egg as it exits the ovary become adhered or clubbed together, closing the tube completely. Hydrosalpinx is a serious threat to fertility. It not only renders the affected tube(s) totally ineffective, it may also lessen the effectiveness of various infertility treatments (e.g. in vitro fertilization [IVF]).

How is hydrosalpinx treated?

Surgery

Neosalpingostomy (surgery that incises the hydrosalpinx and leaves an opening in the tube) is a surgical treatment option. The tube, however, often closes again enabling the hydrosalpinx to return. The most positive results are obtained with younger women and women with small hydrosalpinges. For others, the preferred treatment is usually total surgical removal of the tube prior to IVF.

The Wurn Technique

The Wurn Technique is a  non-surgical infertility treatment that uses pelvic physical therapy to decrease the adhesions causing tubal damage and hydrosalpinx. Once mobility is restored, the previously blocked tube(s) often regains normal function, creating a free path for conception to occur. Many women with a diagnosis of hydrosalpinx became pregnant naturally after receiving this hands- on therapy.

Click here to learn more about treating hydrosalpinx with the Wurn Technique.

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Turning Back the Clock

March 15, 2011 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

It seems we could all use a bit more time these days. More time to meet a friend for coffee, more time to dust off that treadmill you bought with the best intentions, more time to enjoy the little things, and perhaps more time to have a baby.  As the hands of a woman’s biological clock run their steady marathon in clockwise circles, we often try desperately to turn those hands in the opposite direction.

Our bodies, much like our memories, have a complex system of remembering what has happened in the past. With each healing event our bodies endure, whether a fall from a bike or a trip to the hospital, a detailed account is written of these traumas in the form of adhesions.

Adhesions form as the body’s response to trauma. These traumas can be from a fall, surgery, infection, or inflammation. As these thick fibrous bands of adhesions form, they attach to nearby tissues and organs. These attachments can cause restrictions that are often the underlying cause of infertility. These mechanical fertility issues include blocked fallopian tubes, hydrosalpinx, unexplained infertility, high FSH, and endometriosis.

The therapists at Clear Passage Physical Therapy are experts when it comes to treating these powerful adhesive restrictions throughout the body.  The therapists use their hands to address the adhesions that restrict normal function of the delicate female reproductive system.  The therapy, in essence, turns back the clock by freeing the body from restrictions from past healing events.

To learn more about this therapy, visit www.clearpassage.com.

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An HSG May Help You Become Pregnant

January 25, 2009 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

By Jackie

Women who experience infertility are commonly scheduled for a hysterosalpinogram (HSG) to see if their fallopian tubes are open and functioning properly. What many women don’t know is that the procedure itself can help a woman become pregnant.

A mucous plug blocking the fallopian tube

A mucous plug blocking the fallopian tube

Sometimes, a fallopian tube fills with a small amount of mucous. This mucous can form after infections, inflammation, or similar events. If the mucous forms together in one spot, it can block the tube (a mucous plug) and prevent an egg and sperm from meeting.

During an HSG, a thin catheter is inserted through the cervix and into the uterus, where radioactive dye is injected into the fallopian tubes. The force of the dye can push any existing mucous out of the tube. If the mucous was completing blocking the tube before, the woman is now able to become pregnant.

HSG Procedure

HSG Procedure

A mucous plug should not be confused with hydrosalpinx or tubal occlusion. Hydrosalpinx occurs when the tube fills with toxic fluid and remains trapped, despite an HSG. A tubal occlusion occurs when a tube is completely blocked, usually due to adhesions.

At CPT, we treat both hydrosalpinx and blocked fallopian tubes. We frequently recommend that our patients with blocked fallopian tubes or hydrosalpinx schedule a follow-up HSG after treatment with us. The HSG not only allows women to visualize the effects of treatment, but it may also push-out any remaining mucous in the tube after treatment.

To learn more about our treatment for these conditions, please visit our hydrosalpinx page and blocked fallopian tube page.

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Infertility due to Ovarian Cysts

January 13, 2009 Clear Passage Physical Therapy No comments

By Jackie

Each month, an egg grows in a tiny fluid-filled sac that bursts open during ovulation to release an egg. Sometimes, the sac doesn’t break open and continues to fill with fluid, forming a functional cyst (the most common type of cyst). A functional cyst generally goes away after one to three months, but if it doesn’t, a doctor made need to surgically remove the cyst. A doctor may also choose to operate if the cyst is painful, large, continues to grow, or is present with several other cysts.

Cysts can be removed through laparoscopic surgery or through laparotomy (open surgery), both of which can preserve a woman’s fertility. However, adhesions can form as a direct result of surgery. Adhesions are tiny strands of collagen that form after any injury to the body. Collagen rushes to the site to contain the area and help it heal. As the collagen builds, it forms an adhesion that remains throughout life. Adhesions that form near the ovaries or fallopian tubes can constrict these structures, causing multiple complications and infertility (please see adhesions and infertility). Thus, the surgery to remove ovarian cysts can cause a woman to experience infertility.

However, women who elect to not undergo surgery or whose cysts go away, may still experience infertility due to adhesions that formed as a response to the inflammation caused by the ovarian cyst.

At CPT, we specialize in reducing and breaking-apart adhesions with manual physical therapy techniques. We have been able to help numerous women become pregnant after years of infertility, previous surgeries, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, and other conditions.

One such patient was Jacqueline, who came to us for treatment after two surgeries to remove ovarian cysts. During her first surgery at age 22, her doctor removed 10% of one ovary and 60% of the other due to complex cysts. When Jacqueline and her husband later tried to conceive, they were dismayed to find they couldn’t become pregnant.

One year later, Jacqueline began experiencing severe pain in her abdomen. She went to the hospital and was rushed to emergency surgery to remove a peritoneal cyst. After the surgery, her surgeon told her, “We were able to remove the cyst, but your ovaries and fallopian tubes were buried by adhesions.”

After this startling diagnosis, Jacqueline searched for alternative treatments and found our clinic. We began treating her with our 20 hour treatment protocol, but she had to leave before treatment was finished due to a family emergency.

Before she returned to our clinic, she completed a few tests with her doctor. She had an ultrasound and learned that she no longer had any visible adhesions since our treatment. Her second test, an HSG, showed that her tubes were blocked with liquid (hydrosalpinx).

When Jacqueline returned for treatment, our therapists focused on her fallopian tubes. Afterward, Jacqueline finally became naturally pregnant and later gave birth to a full-term baby.

To learn more about our treatment for adhesions and infertility, please visit our female infertility page.

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