Cervical scarring and conception

[puglady]

I have adenomyosis and recently went for a hysteroscopy. The procedure couldn't be carried out due to scar tissue in my cervix. This I suspect is from a cone biopsy 18 years ago for severe diskaryosis and a termination.

Has anyone had crevices scarring and fallen pregnant? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi puglady

Sorry to hear you're going through this. I don't have much advice but I have Asherman's Syndrome which is basically uterine scarring, including the cervix and tubes. My scarring too was due to a mixture of a termination and retained products and I've been unable to get pregnant since (which makes the knowledge of having had a termination all the more upsetting)

Generally speaking, if you have scarring in your cervix or your uterus then you shouldn't ttc due to potential complications in pregnancy which can be life threatening and also the rate of miscarriage is increased dramatically. Is there anything they're able to do for your scarring? The scar tissue tends to adhere together which would explain why they couldn't enter your cervix and so sperm would be unlikely to get very far. Could you maybe see a specialist? There are 2 in the UK who are AS specialists but they are highly trained in the detection and removal of scar tissue from the cervix and elsewhere. I think that with severe scarring, it's unlikely you would fall pregnant naturally and it could prove risky if you did so maybe speak to a specialist? If you google "Dr Adrian Lower" you can read a bit more about him and what he can do, I'm fairly sure he is a specialist in dealing with women with adenomyosis also :)

Hi, thanks for your message. I wasn't told that it could be difficult/dangerous for me to conceive, in fact nothing much has been said apart from that I'd have to go back and have the hysteroscopy under GA.

I have very heavy periods and pass large clots, how does his happen if my cervix is so scarred that the Dr couldn't get through it? Although the procedure was done without anaesthetic and was extremely painful which is why the act stopped.

*why the Dr stopped

I still have a day of heavy flow and pass clots but I also believe my scarring is covering my cervix. I'm not sure on the explanation, I know women whose uteruses have been, in the drs terms, "obliterated" in other words, there was 100% scarring but many still had normal periods. I was told by my dr that it was fine to ttc and that it just "might not happen" but from what I've found doing research, speaking to other women etc is that scar tissue in the cervix/uterus/tubes is fairly mythical to most Doctors. Because of that, non-specialised drs don't really know enough about it to give the proper medical advice. I spoke to a specialist in scar tissue removal in California and it was him who told me that even with very minimal scarring, you shouldn't ttc until you have had treatment and had the tissue removed. He said that you are greatly at risk of mc if you do conceive and if you don't have a mc then there can be growth issues, placental issues, a weakened cervix which could cause premature labour... With the hysteroscopy are they just looking at your cervix/uterus or are they going to attempt to remove any scar tissue there and then?