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What Is a Hysterosalpingogram (HSG)? with Dr. Katherine L. Palmerola of IVFMD
Hi, my name is Dr. Catherine Pomerola and I am one of the fertility specialists at IVFMD in Miami, which is part of the Prelude Network. If you're new to fertility treatments, you may be overwhelmed by the number of abbreviations and different procedures we have during your testing and treatments. So I wanted to explain some of the most common procedures that you may face during your evaluation. Starting with hysterosalpingogram. This also goes by the abbreviation HSG. The hysterosalpingogram is a test to look at the fallopian tubes primarily. You get a sense of the uterus, but it's not a perfect test for uterus. It's mostly evaluating the fallopian tubes. This is done by inserting a small amount of dye into the uterus, which then flows into the fallopian tubes. While we're inserting that fluid into the uterus and fallopian tubes, we're taking x-ray images, which allow us to see the shapes of the fallopian tubes. It's a very quick test, typically a few minutes, ideally. There can be some mild cramping during that procedure, which can be minimized by Motrin or ibuprofen, and we get our results immediately. So the pictures tell us the shape of the fallopian tubes and whether they're open. Is there any scarring or blockages? And it gives us a rough sense of the uterus, but it's not meant for an evaluation of uterus.