Comment on: “Should the myometrial free margin still be considered a limiting factor for hysteroscopic resection of submucous fibroids? A possible answer to an old question.”

To the Editor:

Paolo Casadio et al. recently published an interesting paper focusing on the dynamic changes of the myometrial free margin separating type II submucous fibroids from the serosa during hysteroscopic resection (1). Although the number of patients of this prospective observational study is limited (n = 13), the authors interestingly concluded that “myometrial free margin increases progressively with each step of the procedure probably leading to an increasing margin of safety.” This study updates and reinforces the previous observation by Yang et al., which first demonstrated that the myometrial free margin is not a static parameter but it “increased gradually after each step of the resection, reaching its maximum after the completion of the procedure” (2). They observed the progressive thickening of myometrium at transabdominal sonography while the myoma is progressively enucleated, suggesting two possible mechanism for this phenomenon: the reshaping of the distended uterine myometrial fibers and the contractions induced by electrosurgery and the myoma grasping by forceps.

High prevalence of endometriosis in infertile women with normal ovulation and normospermic partners

To the Editor:

We read the article by Meuleman et al. (1) with interest. The high incidence of endometriosis (47%) and other pelvic pathology (29%) in this cohort makes a strong case for offering laparoscopy and hysteroscopy to couples with “unexplained infertility” (a diagnosis of exclusion). This diagnosis however requires confirmation of tubal integrity, and the issue is whether laparoscopy should be the first-line investigation to establish tubal patency. The authors did not say how many women in their cohort had a completely normal pelvis following laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.

Is perifollicular vascularity assessment always feasible and clinically effective?

To the Editor:

We read with great interest the recent paper by Robson et al. (1). The authors described their experience on power Doppler assessment of perifollicular vascularity (PV) at the time of ultrasound-guided transvaginal oocyte retrieval in infertile patients who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) showing that this procedure is practical and reproducible, and concluding that it should be tested in larger studies in order to define its clinical value.