Reproductive outcomes after uterine septum resection in patients with recurrent miscarriage or infertility: a retrospective study in Chinese women

Abstract

Objective Septate uterus is the most common structural uterine anomaly, which is related to the adverse pregnancy outcomes in women of childbearing age. This article provides a retrospective review of hysteroscopic uterine septum resection performed in our hospital during recent years, focusing on the patients with recurrent miscarriage and primary infertility, and also to identify which patients are more likely to benefit from the surgery. Methods This is a single-center retrospective study. Cases of women who underwent hysteroscopic septum resection at West China Second Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2014 to December 2019, retrieved through the medical record system, were divided into three groups: Group A was the recurrent miscarriage group, Group B had a history of pregnancy with spontaneous abortion once at most, and Group C was the primary infertility group. Each patient was followed up by telephone about further pregnancy, miscarriage and live birth for at least 1 year. Results A total of 176 surgical patients were included in this study. Group A, B, and C include 42, 74, and 60 cases, respectively. The postoperative pregnancy rates of the three groups were 71.4, 82.4, and 75.0%; live births rates were 50.0, 74.3, and 71.7%; and spontaneous abortion rates were 21.4, 17.6, and 13.3%. 62 patients had a complete uterine septum and 114 had a partial uterine septum. For patients with complete septate uterus, the preoperative pregnancy rate was 54.84% and the pregnancy rate increased to 85.48% after surgery; and yet the preoperative and postoperative pregnancy rates in patients with partial septate uterus were close (from 71.9 to 72.8%). Conclusions After uterine septum resection, the pregnancy rate and spontaneous abortion rate in RSA patients were not significantly different from the other two groups, but the live birth rate was still significantly lower. Patients with complete uterine septum may benefit more from surgery. The surgical indications should be carefully and strictly evaluated.