Laparoscopy or IVF??

[Honey2819]

Hi,

Had my follow up appointment today & doctor confirmed that both my Fallopian tubes are blocked. He didn’t give me the option of laparoscopy to investigate or potentially unblock the tubes - just straight to IVF.

I’m looking for some advice as I’m considering going private for the laparoscopy? I feel like I’m missing out on a possible chance to conceive naturally but just accepting IVF if there is a chance just one of my tubes could be saved. I don’t know what’s caused the damage and the doctor didn’t either (neither did he want to find out).

What do you think? Should I just go to IVF? Should I consider having the surgery?? Help me please.

Just to add - is this usual on the NHS? I saw an article that said this op isn’t always available on NHS.

To be honest I wouldn't risk unblocking them - the risk of an ectopic pregnancy becomes very very high - most people I know who have had ectopics were because they had surgery in their tubes (I've had two but not related to being blocked)
I'd explore IVF

Oh really.

I just feel like going straight to IVF is my last option and the surgery might have been a chance before that.

Even if only one tube could be saved, it’s something kind of hope.

The problem is that any kind of surgery on tubes can damage them and there is no way of knowing if the blockage has damaged the inside of the tube - the little muscles which push an egg through them - there is no test to check or repair them x

Have the lap. You could have endo or other things going on which can be treated at the same time. I found out the hard way after my third failed cycle. I'm now on the correct protocol which I'm hoping helps alongside having the endo excised. Good luck! xx

I think I’m definitely going to have a better look into it. I know there are risks but if anything were to happen - I would be at the IVF stage. Rather than jumping straight to that point without trying. Does that make sense? Lol thank you! Xx

Hi @Honey2819 I am in exactly the same situation as you however after much contemplation I decided to have the Lap. The NHS said I could skip the lap and go straight to IVF however the lap will help me with my pain as they are suspecting endo. I have one blocked tube and the NHS have advised with my suspected endo and diagnosed PCOS they want to investigate the root cause however they kindly made it my decision to go for IVF first. They kindly said regardless of the lap results they will ensure that I will get IVF within the same time slot next year. The chances of repair and safe pregnancy is higher then having a higher chance of an ectopic. Of course you can have an ectopic but only if you conceive naturally after they unblock the tubes as the ivf procedure bypasses your Fallopian tubes. Good luck and I hope you make the right decision x

@chicaXS - thanks for replying! Do you mind if I ask what part of the UK you are from? I’m based in South Wales and my consultant simply wouldn’t offer me the lap. I asked and asked but he said it just wasn’t an option. He didn’t really go through my results either, just stated I had a blockage on both sides. I know IVF is available for me but I have to lose about 7lbs before they will add me to the list. I’m going to see another gynaecology consultant at a private clinic who will hopefully give me more information and hopefully the op to unblock them. Good luck! X

Hi @honey2819 I’m from London and with the NHS at Homerton. I understand why they say go straight to IVF however do you also suffer from endo? They should do the lap to relieve some of the pain you maybe receiving so you can always request this??

I had a laparoscopy to check for endo after ttc for over a year and heavy periods. They found one tube completely blocked and one mostly blocked and told us that a natural pregnancy was very unlikely and that if I did manage to get pregnant there would be an increased chance of ectopic. I got pregnant naturally a few months after the procedure and again naturally 18 months later, I had two children with no intervention necessary. I was sent for early scans to check for ectopic. I would fully recommend the laparoscopy as it makes sense to me that this I blocked my tubes a little.

Sadly my youngest son died recently, he was nearly 2. We are considering whether we want to try for another baby at some point which I why I’m lurking around the infertility threads again, as we may well not be so lucky again with conception. All the best with your journey.

Can I clarify how they plan on unblocking the tubes? For me it was a side effect of the HSG (?) text when they shoot the dye through.

@ acquiescence - thanks for replying! First of all I’m so sorry to hear about your son! I had the HSG & my consultant said they are both blocked and only option is IVF. They wouldn’t even offer the option to unblock. I have a private appointment on Tuesday to see what my options are to have them unblocked. I am assuming this would be via a laparoscopy op but I have also seen online something called tubal cannulation? I’m not sure what the difference is.

I just don’t feel ready to go straight to IVF, I would like to at least try to unblock my tubes. I also need to check the risks that if I did go ahead with the surgery privately and it was unsuccessful - would i still be able to have IVF?

@acquiescence

@honey I can’t imagine any reason why you wouldn’t be able to go ahead with ivf if your tubes can’t be unblocked, as people have successful IVF with no tubes. Hope the appointment goes well and you get some clarity.

Hi @Honey2819 I would be careful as the nhs can be ruthless. If you perform the surgery privately the NHS may not fund your IVF since this will be seen as a intervention to their fertility treatment to you. Double check first. Consultation, scans and checks are fine however if you do the tube unblocking they might kick up a stink.

Good point! Il add it to my list of questions to ask! Thank you!

Hi honey, just wondered if any updates?
I had a hsg done and found one tube blocked and I’ve just got paperwork through for surgery, laparoscopy and tubal cannulation. This is through gynaecology route tho, they want me to try the surgery first then if that doesn’t work Then clomid before last resort IVF

I had a laparoscopy in July to unblock a tube. Saw a private doctor who asked my gp to refer back to him as a nhs patient. By the time I had the surgery we'd been ttc for number two for 1 1/2 years. In January this year we started ivf and were unsuccessful so we're impatiently waiting for next go. Ivf is all private as we already have a dc. Personally I wish I'd started the ivf sooner, but for other people the laparoscopy sorts all problems.