Hi ladies, have any one of you had a hydrosalpinx removed prior to IVF? If so, was this paid for by the NHS or did you persuade the likes of BUPA?
I had a lap 10 days ago and my surgeon found a hydrosalpinx on my left tube and has suggested removal or clip prior to ivf. But I'm not sure what the nhs waiting times are, or whether I should try the private, or self funded route (any idea how much this costs?)
Thanks for your help.
I had mine done through the nhs during s laparoscopy which I waited a year for! I had told them before operating however that if they saw my tubes were damaged in anyway and not working to remove them, so it had not been part of the initial plan for my surgery!
I think a laparoscopy is around £3000 private
Hi, I paid for it privately, I think it was around £3500 at my local BMI hospital. I had the consultation on the 10th January and the lap on the 13th of February, so not long to wait if you can pay. But the only reason I paid was because of my age (41) and didn't want to wait to have it done on the NHS, I think the waiting time would have been around 6 mths.
All the best,
Jx
Hello, I could have had it done on the NHS but opted to pay in order to save time. It cost around £2800 in total.
BUPA - no chance, unfortunately. They don't cover anything relating to fertility issues.
Thank you for all the replies! Does anyone know whether clamping is better than removal, or is detachment better if successful IVF is your goal?
Just thinking about this SparklyT - and because hydrosalpinx and endo are a disease state - surely there is a way get this covered - but it will be difficult.
Did you ever report any pain? If you have ever reported any pain then surely the consultant can just big that up a little more..
I'd get the tube removed and not clipped, best to get the diseased tube removed, because it won't be doing any good to you, and u may as well have the endo treated at the same time. xx
Thanks YellowRose, you are always full of great advice, yep think my consultant is going to take that tack! Will let you know how I get on.
Hiya. Yep, I think if he eggs up the pain side, then it will be fine. And if BUPA give you a hard time about trying to conceive, they cannot use that against you because you now have a disease that needs treatment. You cannot separate endo and fertility, but just because you have want children it shouldn't mean that you are not entitled to treatment.
One question for you - is your BUPA cover supplied from work or your personal insurance?
I had my first surgery when still employed and they paid my health insurance, as part of my package, with Aviva insurance - they didn't question me at all and I had surgery within 2 weeks of diagnosis.
When I left my job, and needed surgery no. 2, I had carried over my insurance straight away with Aviva - paying a pretty hefty price for existing conditions to be covered (MHD - medical history disregarded) I was bombarded with fertility related questions.
I did tell them that I did want children at some point but that i wanted treatment for my stage 4 disease first - and that if they didn't treat me because I was a woman who wanted children in the future - that would be discriminatory practise by Aviva.
It got approved in the end but it was a battle, and that was with me being honestly unable to walk from the massive peritoneal cyst I had. They didn't care about my being ill, just that I was a 'woman' in want of a child at some point in the near future, despite my not being remotely well enough to start IVF at that point.
The point I am trying to make, is that if your BUPA is paid for by work, it will be alot easier. I was shocked at the difference between Aviva's service to corporate clients v individual patients - but money talks right. I really had to argue it with them and the consultants PA says she battles this all the time - but she won them over. I think your consultant and his/her PA will help you with this. I'd recommend creating a good relationship with the PA, it helps, it helped me.
xx
Hi, I looked into this extensively, and neither my BUPA nor AXA insurance could cover it, unfortunately, even though it was caused by endo.
Really useful, thanks YellowRose. Yes, it's with my work so I'm hoping that I might get it approved. Xx
That's really good - really glad to hear that - I think they will approve you, they won't want to risk peeing off the company. Excellent news. xx
Hello- I'm probably going to throw a curve ball in, and my knowledge is limited, but I've recently read they can unblock hydrosalpinx via tubal
Surgery. It's the surgery they used to perform prior to IVF being more readily available, however since most consultants turn to IVF to fix this type of infertility the art of this surgery isn't as widespread as it used to be. The reason I'm so passionate about this, is following a HSG/MRI, I was told I'd got tubal factor with clear fluid in my right tube. I'd also other things showing up, so had a laparoscopy, to identify and remove. My consultant decided only to remove my hard cyst ( luckily it was benign). Anyhow, he said he may need to re operate on my tubes at a later date. So fast forward 6 months and here we are, I'm on my second try, ( 1st cancelled) and it turns out my left ovary doesn't stimulate and my right ovary is a low responder so I may not be a candidTe for IVF ( they're making the decision tomorrow I think). If I can't undergo IVF, I will ask for tubal surgery to unblock and hope for miracle. As I'm approaching tomorrow, I'm pleased he didn't remove my right tube as we've only found out my left ovary doesn't work, by undergoing IVF. And although we've been TTC for 5 years, if they pull me from the IVF programme, but I am still producing eggs, I want the very slim chance of being able to conceive naturally open to me, so I will ask them to unblock me. I guess your AMH may help you make a more informed decision, but I just wanted to share my experience. Good luck X
Hi, I had this done. I had the ends of both tubes opened up and stitched back to keep them open, and a lot of adhesions removed. Unfortunately for me it did not work, my tubes closed up again after about 6 months and I had a brand new hydro. In retrospect I wish I'd just had them removed earlier. Here I am now, having had a BFP from FET after tube removal!
Congratulations, you must be delighted! From your story and the more I read, it seems safer just to remove the affected tube. I wonder why they offer to do other techniques when there is a risk of the problems reoccurring? Did you have to have a second op once they closed up again?
Yes we are, it won't sink in I dont think until our scan next month.
I think they try tubal surgery as it CAN work. After the surgery I was told I had 40% chance of conceiving naturally. 6 months after the op (and no success) we started IVF. during my egg collection he spotted that my tubes had closed again and I had some fluid (not hydrosalpinx but cysts in the scar tissue at the end of my tubes) so I had another op in August and removed one tube and disconnected the other, which couldn't be removed as it was stuck to my bowel.
Once healed I started prep for a FET, and here we are 
Oh another thing.. My only regret was that I didn't use the six months I waited for the first op to have IVF and freeze all th embryos as a back up plan, because they would've been a year younger which at almost 40 can make all the difference. I think you could only do this if you're paying for the freezing though.
That's a good call, thanks @hopefuljo. Should find out my AMH results next week. I've been quoted £4k if I self fund the surgery myself (consultant and anaethetist fees are actually very reasonable, it's the hospital fees that are very high!)
Hopefully your AMH is good. Are you funded round of IVF or self funded ( only reason I ask, is on my laparoscopy I asked my consultant if he could push it through as my fertility was decreasing and my funding may expire) he stuck red urgent stickers on my file and I had my lap within x3 weeks of finding out I needed one. One thing I've learnt, is if I don't ask I don't get. X and although it's not usually in my nature to be pushy, this is totally different. Good luck. Keep me informed on your progress X
Yes I know what you mean about being pushy- my natural bossiness is coming in handy for once! I think we qualify for 3 NHS rounds but need to check this with my GP on Friday. If the wait for the operation and IVF is too long, I'll probably self fund. Do you mind me asking how old you are?
Hello! Realised I replied my age to yellow rose!!!! I'm 39 but been TTC for 5+years and started investigations when I was 36. XXXX good luck tomorrow
Congrats Maccerpops ! Fantastic news !!! X
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