Laparoscopy and trying to conceive - what to expect?

If you have been trying to conceive for a long time with no result, and less invasive fertility tests were inconclusive, your doctor may recommend a laparoscopy to determine possible causes of your infertility. Are you going to have a laparoscopy, or are you just curious? This is a brief outline of what to expect from a laparoscopy.

A laparoscopy is not carried out just for infertility testing. The term refers to a keyhole surgery in which a small incision made in the abdomen. This is done to provide the surgical team access to the abdominal cavity, normally for exploratory purposes. This procedure can be used to diagnose liver cancer, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory disease, and more. This minimally invasive surgery is also used to remove scar tissue or treat an ectopic pregnancy. If you are going to have a laparoscopy as a diagnostic test for infertility, you will have to go to the hospital. A laparoscopy is carried out under general anesthesia. One or more incisions are made, depending on the needs of the surgeon. As a rule, laparoscopies performed for diagnostic reasons only do not take very long. While your surgery is ongoing, your doctor will take a look around, and might take some tissue for a biopsy.

While a laparoscopy is minimally invasive, you will feel the affects of the anesthesia afterward, and the spot where the incision was made is likely to feel sore. You will feel fatigued and might have a sore throat from the tube that is placed to help you breathe during surgery. Still, you will be able to go home the same day you had the laparoscopy, and after some rest and recuperation, you will soon be back on your feet. Hopefully, after your laparoscopy, your medical team will know how to move forward with fertility treatments, and you will be a step closer to conceiving a baby. Sometimes, you will have a diagnosis immediately after your surgery, but you will often have to wait a while for lab results to come back.