LAPAROSCOPIC FINDINGS OF FEMALE INFERTILITY – A STUDY OF 186 CASES AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Female Infertility

Abstract

Objective: To study the various causes of female infertility, diagnosed at laparoscopy.
Study Design: Descriptive study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at Military Hospital Rawalpindi, Pakistan from April 2008 to December 2010.
Patients and Methods: A series of 186 patients, having either primary or secondary infertility admitted through gynae outpatient department undergoing diagnostic laparoscopy and meeting inclusion criteria were studied. The data was collected prospectively and analysed in the form of frequency and percentages by using SPSS version 10.
Results: Amongst the cohort of 186 patients, 148 (79.6%) had primary and 38 (20.4%) had secondary infertility. Their ages ranged from 20 to 43 years. Mean age of study participants was 30.14 ± 4.04 years. Mean duration of infertility was 9.5 years. No laparoscopic abnormality was found in 51 (27.9%), while there were abnormal findings in 135 (72.6%) patients.
Conclusion: Commonest etiological factor was tubal blockade in both types of infertility. Other factors were endometriosis, pelvic adhesions and fibroids. Laparoscopy is minimally invasive yet a reliable procedure for visualization of internal architecture of the female pelvis.