Role of salpingoscopy in assessing the inner fallopian tubes of infertility patients with ovarian endometriomas.

Aim: The aim of this study was to observe the insides of the fallopian tubes of patients with unilateral or bilateral endometriomas by using salpingoscopy and evaluate the inner cavity of the fallopian tubes according to our original scoring system.

Material And Methods: From April 2008 through December 2010, patients with unilateral or bilateral endometriomas were recruited (n = 157, endometrioma group). All patients underwent laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy and salpingoscopy. Using salpingoscopy, we observed the tubal lumen and calculated a fallopian tube score (F score) paying attention to the following six results: adhesions, loss of mucosal folds, rounded edges of mucosal folds, debris, foreign bodies, and abnormal vessels. The F scores were compared with those of the unexplained infertility patients who received those same procedures during the same period (n = 235; control group).

Results: Slightly more than three-quarters (75.9%) of the patients in the endometrioma group received F scores of 0, and this percentage was significantly higher than that for the control group (139/235 = 59.1%, P < 0.05). The pregnancy rate after conventional treatment for the endometrioma group was 21.7%, and all pregnant patients had achieved an F score of less than 2.

Conclusion: It is highly possible that infertility patients with ovarian endometriomas are more likely to have intact fallopian tubes, by comparison with infertility patients who do not have ovarian endometriomas.