SONOHYSTEROSALPINGOGRAPHY WITH TRANSVAGINAL COLOR DOPPLER AND 3-DIMENSIONAL ULTRASOUND - STATE-OF-THE-ART

The overwhelming majority of asymptomatic patients requiring evaluatio n for tubal function or tubal patency are women who are experiencing i nfertility problems. However, not all of them have tubal occlusion or even tubal pathology. There is a need to acquire experience and object ive information about the capabilities of newer methods for evaluation of tubal structure and function that are less risky and invasive than those currently available for the growing number of women who require these studies. Several ultrasound techniques, such as transvaginal co lor Doppler sonography (TCDS), sonohysterosalpingography (SHSG), and t hree-dimensional sonography (3DS), are capable of providing diagnostic information that, in some cases, is equivalent to the information aff orded by established techniques that require exposure to radiation, su ch as hysterosalpingography (HSG), or that are more invasive, such as hysteroscopy or diagnostic laparoscopy. Our experience, along with tha t of other investigators who have published reports on their experienc es with these techniques, suggests that SHSG and TCDS may become initi al diagnostic methods of choice for the growing number of women who ha ve delayed pregnancy until late in their reproductive years or whose f ertility is impaired by exposure to sexually acquired tubal pathogens.