Falloposcopic investigation of tube pathology: correlation with histopathological findings

Objective To compare the results of falloposcopic and histopathological exa mination of diseased fallopian tubes in order to assess the diagnostic qual ity of falloposcopy. Subjects Five infertile patients with known, severe tubal pathology, which was considered to be irreversible and unsuitable for reconstructive surgery . Interventions Falloposcopy followed by a bilateral salpingectomy, as prepar ation for in vitro fertilization. Serial cuts of the different segments of the 10 tubes were then prepared for histopathological examination. The hist opathological findings were compared in blind fashion to the falloposcopic results. The pathomorphological criteria for both were the luminal geometry , status of the mucosal surface, fold architecture and intraluminal finding s. Results The sensitivity of falloposcopy was 100% for the evaluation of lumi nal geometry, the mucosa and fold architecture. For intraluminal pathology, the sensitivity was 75% and the specificity was 100%. Conclusion In cases of severe tubal pathology, falloposcopy is an accurate diagnostic examination. However, its capacity to detect intraluminal pathol ogy needs to be improved.