Fertility Surgery FAQs

Creating a fertility treatment plan is an extremely individualized process. The right surgery for you will depend on your health, fertility, and family goals, which our specialists will discuss with you in depth.

Our doctors can address fertility issues through laparoscopy or hysteroscopy. Laparoscopy will be recommended to diagnose and treat problems in the reproductive organs, and hysteroscopy will be recommended to diagnose and treat uterine abnormalities.

Fertility surgery is typically done under general or local anesthesia for your comfort. A hysteroscopy may also be performed under a sedative. Anesthesia is applied through an IV, and it may cause some side effects, such as nausea.

When anesthesia is used, patients must stop eating 12 hours prior to the procedure. A breathing tube or catheter may be placed to provide additional support to your body during your surgery. They may also shave your pubic hair.

Fertility surgeries are minimally invasive, meaning they pose little overall risk of infection or complications in our patients. However, some potential risks to be aware of include:

• Complications from anesthesia (vomiting, nausea, headache, allergic reaction, lung infection)
• Formation of scar tissue
• Nerve damage
• Excessive bleeding or formation of blood clots
• Hematomas (a swelling caused by blood outside its vessel).

The goal of fertility surgery is to improve your chances of becoming pregnant. While fertility testing—such as pelvic ultrasounds and bloodwork—is beneficial, these tests may not uncover everything. There are some causes of infertility that need to be surgically diagnosed and addressed through laparoscopy or hysteroscopy.

Our specialists will only recommend surgery if there is a known or suspected structural problem preventing pregnancy.