Guidance
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Hysteroscopic metroplasty of a uterine septum for recurrent miscarriage, in January 2015.
Description
A septate uterus is a type of congenital uterine anomaly, in which the inside of the uterus is divided by a muscular or fibrous wall, called the septum. The septum may be partial or complete, extending as far as the cervix. It is more common in women with infertility and in women with repeated miscarriage and may therefore be one cause of this problem.
Surgical removal of the septum (metroplasty) is usually considered for women who have a septate uterus and repeated adverse reproductive outcomes, including miscarriage and preterm delivery. Metroplasty has also been used to manage primary infertility but the causal relationship between this problem and the presence of a uterine septum is less clear.
Surgery was traditionally done by a transabdominal approach. A hysteroscopic approach aims to reduce morbidity and shorten the recovery period. Unlike transabdominal metroplasty, caesarean section is not mandatory for patients who conceive after hysteroscopic metroplasty.
Coding recommendations
The OPCS-4 code for hysteroscopic metroplasty is:
Q17.5 Endoscopic metroplasty