Worried about a diagnostic laparoscopy

B

Blondy

Registered User
TTC 13 months.

I'm 32 & DH is 51.
Just started seeing Dr Philip Ho in central.
Uterine scan and bloodwork fine & no known history of gynae issues.
SA of hubby is lowish but said not levels to be worried about- although they didn't actually give me any more info that that, we just proceeded to arrange an appointment for a laparoscopy.

Am I over reacting by getting worried agreeing to have a surgical procedure over the phone? Especially with what to my mind is very little data to warrant it.
I know they need to check my tubes but I'm kind of freaking out as to the magnitude of the situation.
I'd love to talk this over with my hubby more but as he's stuck in Europe due to Volcanic dust it's proving kinda difficult!

Any reasuring comments out there please help.
 
Do you have endometriosis ? generally that's what laparoscopy is made for, to check all the organs health and eventually endometriosis... but with a good scan, I wonder why he would go for such a procedure right away ?
Did you have your hormone levels checked ?

I had a laparoscopy a few years ago, but it was the last of the last on my procedure list !

Also, if your hubby SA is a bit low, maybe it would be a good idea to boost it a little bit (my husband was also in the average, but low, and it's very easy to boost).

The situation in Europe will get better in a day or two, is there any chance you can wait for him to talk about it ?
 
I was trying to conceive for 18 months when I went to look for help. Similar situation to yours in that there were no known gynae issues and my husband had some issue with sperm morphology but nothing really serious. I had the procedure where they flushed dye through my fallopian tubes to make sure everything was okay (forget what it is called) and it was. From this we proceeded with fertility treatment. The procedure was uncomfortable but nothing as intrusive as a laparoscopy sounds. From looking it up online it does seem a little drastic for initial exploration, but then I am certainly not an expert in these things. Did your doctor give you rationale as to why he is recommending this versus other exploratory procedures?
 
Hi

No, I don't think you are over reacting at all. Even though a laparoscopy may be routine and considered low risk in the scale of things to an ObGyn, it is still an invasive procedure and is not risk free.

What are the alternatives? I saw Dr Ho last year as well, our issue was also unexplained infertility. Does he have a high clinical suspicion of you having tubal abnormalities or endometriosis? Because if he does, then I can see justification for laparoscopy. It also offers a chance to "fix" things.

I did not have symptoms suggesting endometriosis, although I had some pain with my periods and he said, at best, I may only have very mild endo. I was given a choice after the U/S uterus and hormones came back normal - HSG (scan to look for tubal patency - is this the scan you had?) or laparoscopy, or HSG first then laparoscopy if I wanted.

I eventually opted to have the HSG which came back normal. I did not opt for a laparoscopy because he did not seem to have a high suspicion of anything that surgery might FIX to affect my chances, so I just went straight to IUI cause we wanted to get on with it, and got pregnant after 2 cycles. I was 34.

As for timing, don't feel pressured into making a decision. You can definitely wait for the ashes to clear and for hubby to fly back, and even ask questions face to face. Dr Ho is lovely and it is expected that patients will want to chat face to face before making a decision like that. Being a private patient I'm sure he can fit you in anytime.
 
Managed to get hold of the doc and have been downgraded to a HSG test for now. Laparoscopy may be needed later but said we'll wait for the HSG first-It seems he's concerned over an old appendix scar and whether that's left me with scarring around the ovary on that side.

I feel much more positive now as the HSG is way less invasive.

Gemma- thanks for your comment bout getting pregnant on the 2nd IUI cycle, I'm hoping that we're that lucky too :-)

Still no sign of DH. He's still stuck in Europe. Just glad this is an abstaining month, because if he'd got stranded on the IUI month I'd be really pi**ed.
 
You're very welcome Blondy :)

It is a long journey, and I am one of the luckier ones. Dr Ho sent me to a lovely radiologist for my HSG. It tells you about the patency, but it does not tell you about how well the tube is moving things along, even if the tube is patent. But you're right, definitely less invasive than a laparoscopy, which you could still consider afterwards depending on what your HSG results are.

We are all here for you, so feel free to come and vent!
 
Sorry, I am a bit of a newbie to all this. Last week, my doctor Dr Rogers suggested Laproscopy as I've just had a miscarriage and he thought it could be tubal. I haven't heard of the 'HSG' alternative. Could you please provide more details about HSG? thanks
 
I checked on HSG on the internet, and have some follow up questions. How much does this typically cost in HK at a private clinic? Thanks
 
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