Evaluation of Salpingostomy and Tubal Implantation for the Treatment of Sterility

Gonadotropin therapy: a 20th century relic

“…Few couples were willing to speak openly about their inability to conceive, much less seek medical help. The only treatment available was tubal surgery and by 1937, Greenhill published an article that reported low success rates after the repair of tubal obstruction (1). He concluded that, given the low probability of success, the risks of the surgery likely did not justify the procedure.…”

Ovarian Hyperstimulation for Successful in Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer

“…Surgical techniques for overcoming tubal blockage were devised almost one hundred years ago with two pregnancies following salpingostomy being reported by Mackenrodt in 1884 (1). Morris (2) transplanted the ovary into the uterus of a patient in 1895 (in a manner similar to Este's operation) however, this procedure has resulted in few pregnancies (3) and was associated with potentially lethal complications during pregnancy.…”

Surgery on the Fimbrial Portion of the Fallopian Tube

“…25 In the following 50 years, reports of over 1,200 salpingostomies found their way into the world literature. These reports were reviewed in 1937 by Greenhill, 26 who discovered 87 subsequent births, or a success rate of 7%. With this dismal success rate, in an era of significant surgical hazard, it is no surprise that half the gynecologists of the time were definitely opposed to performing surgery for the sole purpose of overcoming infertility.…”