Ovulated from Right, Ectopic Left Tube

Preparing For Your Next Pregnancy
1

Hi,

I recently had my left Fallopian tube removed as I had an ectopic pregnancy. Prior to tube removal the doctor could see i ovulated from the right ovary but my ectopic was in the left tube. I know that when you have one tube it can move over to pick up eggs however I didn’t know that it could do this if you had both tubes?

I guess I am worried that my right Fallopian tube could be blocked or something wrong with it hence why the leg tube moved over to collect the egg?

When I had my op the doctor said my remaining tube looked healthy however I know they only looked from the outside and didn’t check if the inside looked healthy?

2

Dear llanasear,

I am so sorry to hear of your ectopic pregnancy and loss,

The fallopian tubes are not connected to the ovaries so there are finger-like projections (fimbriea) lining the end of the ovary and they beat to create a current to sweep the egg into the fallopian tube.

I do not believe that the fact the egg was picked up from the opposite fallopian tube shows there is damage to the closet one. Fallopian tubes are thin structures so doctors can usually see any severe damage, I would be reassured if rheumatic it looks good.

There are tests that can be completed to check if your remaining tube is clear however these are not routinely offered in the UK.

We have more information on our website here under testing -

https://ectopic.org.uk/patients/trying-to-conceive/

The chances of a further ectopic after a first in UK is 10%. So that’s 90% chance of the embryo being in right place next time.

While generally it is possible to conceive after an ectopic pregnancy, the amount of time it takes varies from couple to couple. Factors include age, general health, reproductive health and how often you have sex, among other things. It may be comforting to know that 65% of women are successfully pregnant within 18 months of experiencing an ectopic pregnancy and some studies suggest this rises to around 85% after two years.

Importantly early scans avail. As soon as you know you are pregnant, contact your local EPU to inform them and book in for an early scan at around six weeks. Remind them of your previous ectopic pregnancy. This self refer route is the best route in our view. Hopefully you will have some comfort to know you are under the radar of medical professionals right away.

Sending much love,

Karen x

The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust

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3

Hi Hun so sorry for your loss…

I feel the same as you I too had an ectopic where I ovulated from my left but it got stuck in my right… I too am petrified that both my tubes are damaged especially as it didn’t get picked up from the nearest side. I was never told by the doctors of my tubes looked ok so now panicking for my future fertility.

Xx

4

So sorry that you have been through this aswell! :frowning:

I have read on another forum about one or two women that had the same issue, first pregnancy and opposite tube collected to ovary, both women said they went on to have 2/3 kids with no problems afterward so this is my hope! I am seeing if I can get a HyCoSy done privately to check if my remaining tube is blocked so I will keep you updated x

5

Hi both,

The same thing happened to me in October - ovulated from right but ectopic in the left tube. I failed expectant management and went on to have a left sided salpingectomy in early November. They also said I have mild endometriosis that they saw when they went in. I’m also worried about my one remaining tube and was told to try naturally for 6 months and then be referred for tubal assessment but I’m thinking of having one down privately earlier too. We’ve started TTC again and it’s been incredibly stressful worrying about having another ectopic in my only tube or if we can even get pregnant naturally at all again…

Good luck and let us know how things go!

6

I also had the ectopic in the other side from where I ovulated, and had the same concerns about whether that means there is something wrong with the other tube as well. I didn’t have surgery so I have no visibility of what either looks like unfortunately or if there is anything else underlying.

I also don’t know if the egg was caught by the other tube, or if it went into the uterus and back out again? That seems implausible but hey if it happens when blasts are transferred during IVF then maybe it’s not impossible?

I believe the tubes have some sort of hormonal signals (maybe even like suction?) for the eggs so I do wonder if the signals were stronger from the ectopic side, which could perhaps mean the other side is blocked? not sure. I hope not for all our sakes as then we’d be at risk of two bad tubes :frowning:

7

Just an update for anyone that reads this thread- we conceived first month trying again (after 3 month wait) following my ectopic. I ovulated from my tubeless side (left) but my tube (right) caught the egg and found out I was pregnant! This sadly ended in miscarriage but this had nothing to do with my previous ectopic or which side i ovulated from, it was just bad luck! (Again!) So you can ovulate from your tubeless side and get pregnant, there is hope <3

8

Sorry to hear about your miscarriage but great to hear you were able to get pregnant again so soon and that your remaining tube appears to be ok and a good catch!