The impact of unilateral salpingectomy on antral follicle count and ovarian response in ICSI cycles: comparison of contralateral side.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of salpingectomy on the ovarian reserve. Comparisons are made with the contralateral side in patients with unilateral salpingectomy undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.

STUDY DESIGN: Patients under 40 with unilateral salpingectomy and without history of ovarian surgery were selected for the multicentre retrospective study. Women with bilateral salpingectomy and history of endometriosis were excluded from the study. Antral follicle count, controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) parameters and number of collected oocytes were the main outcome measures of the study.

RESULTS: A total of 56 patients were eligible for this study. The mean age of the patients was 31.6 ± 4.7 years. The reasons for the salpingectomy were hydrosalpinx (39.3%, n = 22) and ruptured ectopic pregnancy (60.7%, n = 34). The ongoing pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 30.6%. There was no statistically significant difference between the operated and non-operated sides in antral follicle count (AFC), follicles  ≥ 17 mm and 10-17 mm on day of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), or number of aspirated oocytes. In the subgroup analysis, AFC, number of growing follicles on day of hCG and number of collected oocytes were comparable between the ectopic pregnancy group and hydrosalpinx group.

CONCLUSION: The study suggests that salpingectomy is not associated with detrimental effects on AFC and ovarian response.