Fixing my uterus...

After lots of research and discussion, we decided to take a step toward trying to conceive again in the future and preventing another miscarriage. I ended up doing a lot of research, which I should have done a long time ago, and finding a lot of information.

I had my first appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist and was so nervous. I was scared he wouldn't know enough about mullerian anomalies, but to my surprise, he was very knowledgeable, and eased my fears.

He said it sounded like I had a septate uterus, rather than a bicornuate, which is actually what I suspected after all of my research.

Septate uterus (SU): The müllerian tract has fused properly and the uterus looks single from the outside, but the inner duct wall (i.e. the median septum) has failed to dissolve around 20 weeks of gestation, and the uterus retains a double cavity. There may or may not be a shallow groove of 1.5 centimeters or less on the outer uterine dome, and sometimes even a whitish triangle of tissue, the septum itself, is visible. The somewhat fibrous inner septum extends to the internal cervical opening or beyond in a complete septate uterus, and extends only part of the way down in a partial septate or subseptate uterus. The inadequate blood supply and progesterone receptors of the median septum may cause problems in pregnancy, giving the SU the worst pregnancy outcomes of all the MAs. SEE IMAGE BELOW.

Septate uterus

taken from: http://mulleriananomalies.blogspot.com/

A week later I had an ultrasound to determine whether my uterus was in fact septate or bicornuate. The results: septate. I had the dr throughly show me and explain it to me.

I asked him if that is what could have caused the bleeding and miscarriage and he said it was absolutely the cause of the miscarriage, and possibly the bleeding. No relation to the pre-eclampsia. There is limited blood supply on the septum, so if part or all of the placenta implants on it, it will die off, causing the bleeding.  It could have been the case when I was having complications with Lyla. Usually if any part implants on the septum, there is no chance of survival, usually causing early miscarriage, with the exception of later miscarriages that are more rare. Successful pregnancies are not common with a septate uterus. Lyla is such a true little miracle, beating all the odds. It's unbelievable.

The next step to fixing my uterus: surgery, which is scheduled for Friday. The dr in the practice who specializes in resecting septums will be preforming the hysteroscopy. There will be a microscope placed in my uterus and the septum will be removed using a lazer. It is a 1 hour surgery. I will need another hysteroscopy done 4 weeks later to make sure the septum was completely removed.

Having this done will increase my chances of carrying a baby immensely. I will still be at risk for incompetent cervix and pre-term labor, but not for miscarriage. If I am watched closely throughout a pregnancy, the incompetent cervix and pre-term labor should be caught soon and not cause any problems.