Thursday, June 24, 2010

My Uterus and I

Last night, I received an e-mail from my RE letting me know my HSG results.

Good news is that my fallopian tubes are open.  She did, however, tell me that my uterus is "notably arcuate".  After painstakingly searching Google for an explanation in layman's terms, I found out that while normal uteri should be shaped like an upside-down triangle, mine is heart-shaped.


Normal uterus


Example of an Arcuate uterus

She reassured me that having an Arcuate uterus is not associated with infertility or miscarriage but it's just the way that my uterus was formed during embryogenesis.

However, while Googling the meaning of an arcuate uterus, I came upon some articles that stated that having an Arcuate uterus can lead to "a higher risk for miscarriage, premature birth, and malpresentation".  Confused, I Googled some more and came upon various forums where some women have had miscarriages (even on their second term or even the 7th month of pregnancy) because they have an Arcuate uterus!

My RE said that I do not require surgery in order to correct my uterus.  She would have advised me to have surgery if my HSG showed a Septate uterus, which has "a band of tissue called a septum running down the middle of their uteri".


Example of a Septate Uterus

When I was waiting for my HSG results, all I was thinking about was whether my fallopian tubes were open or not.  Now, I find out that there are kinds of uteri anomalies! I mean, who would have known that there are so many factors that can affect pregnancy, miscarriages, etc.?

I've e-mailed my RE to ask if I can opt for surgery just so that I can correct the problem. We'll see what she has to say.

3 comments:

Amy@LittlePinkDollhouse said...

I am so glad your tubes are open! I had no idea about the different uterus shapes! Prayers for you for a quick and easy journey from here on out!

Anonymous said...

arwen you will be fine, i know it deep in my heart. also, you seem to have a case of google-itis, where you google too much and it makes you paranoid, which pretty much sums up me when i try to google everything

-k

Arwen said...

Thank you, Amy!

K: I know. Even my friend says that too. My RE didn't explain what an Arcuate uterus was so I just had to Google it. I'm trying to limit Googling anything now. You're right, it makes me really paranoid!