A new hysteroscopic tubal embryo transfer catheter: development and clinical application.
OBJECTIVE
Development and clinical application of a new hysteroscopic tubal embryo transfer catheter.


METHODS
Catheterization was performed in 60 patients at hysteroscopic insemination into tube, using 3 French catheters, in which the distal 3, 4, and 5 cm tapered to 2 French. Hysteroscopic tubal embryo transfer and conventional IVE-ET were performed in 30 patients with normal tubes, who failed to achieve pregnancy after 2 IVF-ET trials.


RESULTS
The success rate of complete insertion with the catheter tapering at the distal 3 cm was significantly higher than that at the distal 5 cm. Since we obtained the highest success rate of insertion with the catheter tapering at the distal 3 cm, we selected this catheter for the h-TEST. The rate of pregnancy in h-TEST was significantly higher than that in conventional ET.


CONCLUSIONS
The h-TEST using our catheter was useful for establishing pregnancy in assisted reproduction.
Kitamura
S
S
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ogikubo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Sugiyama
T
T
Iida
E
E
Miyazaki
T
T
Yoshimura
Y
Y
D002404:Catheterization / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004624:Embryo Transfer / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015907:Hysteroscopy; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate