ABSTRACT
Fallopian tube tissue obtained at Pomeroy sterilization of 75 normally cycling women, 75 women 2 to 3 days postpartum, and 75 asymptomatic women who had used a nonmedicated IUD for at least a year was examined histologically. There was an increased frequency of tissue edema and congestion in the postpartum group only. The frequency and extent of acute inflammatory changes in the three groups was not significantly different.
PIP: The histology of the Fallopian tubes in asymptomatic women using an IUD for at least 1 year was studied, using asymptomatic postpartum women and normally menstruating women scheduled for Pomeroy sterilization as controls. 225 patients, 75 with inert IUD in place, 75 undergoing salpingectomy 2-3 days after delivery, and 75 normally menstruating women undergoing elective salpingectomy, provided tissue samples. There was no difference in the frequency of edema and congestion in tissue of control vs. those with an IUD (P .05); on the other hand, the higher frequency of this alteration in postpartum subjects was statistically significant (P .02). The frequency of acute inflammatory infiltrate ranged from 29 in controls-37% in IUD subjects, but these differences were not statistically significant (P .05). The distribution of patchy, moderate, or marked acute inflammatory infiltrate was 68, 27, and 4.5%, respectively, in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between this distribution and that observed in the IUD or postpartum subjects.
