Infertility Surgery

Dallas IVF’s physicians are contemporarily trained in the latest techniques that are proven surgical procedures to correct anatomical abnormalities that can lead to infertility or pregnancy losses. Most infertility surgeries are outpatient procedures that do not require overnight stays in the hospital. Dr. Barnett and Dr. Ku are highly skilled surgeons with many years of experience and training. Below are listed the most common types of surgical procedures performed by Dr. Ku and Barnett.

• Hysteroscopy. When a diagnostic procedure such as a hysterosalpingogram, office hysteroscopy, or saline sonogram reveals an abnormality that can not be corrected in the office, an operative hysteroscopy will be recommended. During an operative hysteroscopy, a small hysteroscope (a fiber optic telescope) is inserted through the cervix and advanced into the uterine cavity with the patient asleep under general anesthesia. This procedure allows for direct views of the uterine cavity and permits the physician to surgically correct the abnormality. Patients go home the same day as the procedure and can often return to work the next day.
  
  
  

• Laparoscopy. If either Dr. Barnett or Dr. Ku suspects that you have an abnormality involving a pelvic structure that may be contributing to your infertility, surgery will be recommended. Laparoscopy, also known as minimally invasive surgery, often requires only a few 0.5 cm incisions through the abdominal wall. The surgeon inserts a laparoscope, a small fiber optic telescope, into the abdomen through these small incisions to view and make surgical corrections to the pelvic structures involved. Laparoscopy is a less-invasive procedure than open abdominal surgery and allows for a quicker recovery with a lower risk of adhesion (scar tissue) formation. Most patients go home the same day as the procedure and return to work 3-4 days later.

Laparoscopy revealing normal pelvis

• Open Abdominal Procedures. Although most infertility surgeries are performed using the minimally invasive techniques, sometimes laparoscopy or hysteroscopy will not be sufficient to correct an abnormality of the pelvis. As such, the physician will recommend a larger abdominal incision. The most common type of abdominal procedure performed by our medical staff is an abdominal myomectomy, the removal of large uterine fibroids. Most open abdominal procedures require at least 1 – 2 nights of hospitalization. Most patients return to work within 4 weeks.
• Müllerian reconstructive surgery. A müllerian anomaly occurs when the uterus, tubes, or the upper portion of the vagina do not form correctly. Laparoscopic, hysteroscopic, or even open abdominal procedures may be necessary to correct these anomalies and restore fertility.