Understanding intrauterine adhesion surgery

The team at Texas Fertility Center always favors the most effective and least involved treatments for hopeful parents. However, our patients sometimes need a minimally invasive surgery, such as intrauterine adhesion surgery, to achieve their family-building goals. Our Austin fertility surgeons explain what you need to know about this fertility-restoring surgery.

Why might a patient need this procedure?

Intrauterine adhesions, which can cause infertility, usually occur from an injury to the uterine cavity. The most common cause is a D&C performed for a miscarriage. Much less commonly, adhesions can result from a severe intrauterine infection.

This type of adhesion can be minor, or it can affect the entire uterine cavity, sometimes even leading to complete cessation of menstrual flow. These severe adhesions have the name of Asherman’s syndrome.

Many women with intrauterine adhesions do not experience discomfort, but they may notice that their periods are light, irregular or absent. They may also have trouble conceiving or experience recurrent miscarriages. Our Austin fertility surgeons have the training and tools to perform intrauterine adhesion surgery and restore fertility.

Treatment with intrauterine adhesion surgery

In order to repair the uterus with intrauterine adhesion surgery, our Austin fertility surgeons perform a hysteroscopy, sometimes under laparoscopic guidance, to remove the intrauterine adhesions. In cases of severe adhesions, the physician may place an intrauterine balloon into the uterine cavity after the procedure to keep the uterine walls apart as they heal.

Our surgeons typically leave the balloon in place for two weeks. They also place the woman on relatively high dose estrogen pills during that time. This is to encourage the uterine lining to regenerate and cover the surfaces where the scar tissue once was. We also ask that women take an antibiotic for two weeks to decrease the risk of infection.

After one of our Austin fertility surgeons removes the balloon in the office, the patient will continue to take the estrogen for an additional 10 to 14 days and take a progesterone pill for the last 10 days of the estrogen. When she stops both pills, she will have a period that may be a little heavier than normal.

To confirm that the adhesions are gone, the physician will order a hysterosalpingogram (HSG). Our surgeons can remove more adhesions with hysteroscopy. However, it may require more than one intrauterine adhesion surgery to treat severe cases.

Contact us to schedule an appointment with our Austin fertility surgeons to learn more about intrauterine adhesion surgery.