Is the hysterosalpingography only done for fertility purposes? is the hysterosalpingography only for fertility purposes? i have pain and i am thinking it is my tubes because my vaginal ultrasound came out great without cysts. the dr. told me about a lapar

Hysterosalpingography : Hysterosalpingography (hsg) is a procedure done to evaluate the uterine cavity and the patency of the fallopian tubes. It does not have to only be applied to people who meet the diagnosis of infertility. I encourage ob/gyns to do this procedure before taking a patient to a laparoscopy for unexplained infertility or for pelvic pain if they are not comfortable dealing with all forms of tubal disease they might encounter at the time of a diagnostic laparoscopy. That way if the study shows an abnormality, they can be better prepared to deal with it at the time of the surgery or refer the patient to a surgeon who is comfortable dealing with it if they are not. There have been times when a patient has been referred to me after a laparoscopy has been done for pelvic pain only to find that there is severe tubal disease that the ob/gyn did not want to deal with. This not only ends up subjecting the patient to two surgeries but can put them in a situation where their insurance may not cover the tubal surgery. Some ob/gyn's are reluctant to perform an hsg on their patient because they are concerned that their patient might get "labeled" by the insurance company as an infertility patient and the insurance company not cover anything. This is a valid concern. It can only be combated by direct communication to the insurance company and making it a routine part of the preoperative work-up. Many ob/gyns are comfortable performing the entire gambit of tubal surgery and therefore, appropriately, do not see a need for a preoperative hsg. It is important to understand that an hsg cannot replace a diagnostic laparoscopy to evaluate a person with pelvic pain. If the hsg is “normal” there still can be significant disease that simply is not being detected by the hsg procedure. It is simply an additional tool to better prepare the patient and the surgeon for the surgery. Hope this helps!

MRI may be useful: Hsg is done to evaluate the uterus and fallopian tubes. It is typicall done for infertility but also after a sterilization procedure. Mri may be useful if us is negative. Tubal abnormalities may include tubal occlusion, salpingitis isthmica nodosum, polyps, hydrosalpinx, and peritubal adhesions. Hsg is avoided when there may be pelvic infection, pregnancy or heavy uterine bleeding.

Nowadays: It is really only used in fertility evaluation or to prove tubal occlusion after types of procedures for permanent birth control.