A Case of Treating Infertility Due to Asherman’s Syndrome With Acupuncture

© Claire Alatan-Lung OMD, LAc 2020

All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.

          Mrs. K came to my clinic on September 28, 2016 for infertility issues. She had been diagnosed with Asherman's Syndrome, a condition where the uterine lining is covered by scar tissues which affect lining growth and pregnancy. Ms. K’s Asherman Syndrome developed during the postpartum after she gave birth to a healthy baby boy in 2014. A dilatation and curettage (D&C) procedure was performed to remove retained placenta during which she lost a significant amount of blood and needed a blood transfusion. After D&C, her menstruation stopped. In 2015 and 2016, She underwent multiple hysteroscopies and a laparoscopy- the Asherman’s syndrome was confirmed each time. 

              According to Mrs. K, the bottom of her cervical was blocked by scar tissues and scar tissues kept forming in her uterus. Her uterine lining was less than 4 mm in thickness and did not respond to hormone therapies that aimed at thickening the lining. Her doctors had recommended using a surrogate to carry the baby but she was adamant of trying to conceive by herself through IVF one last time. Prior to her first visit with me, she had done IVF a few times with no success. 

            Her medical history includes being anorexic in high school, depression, anxiety, OCD, excessive hair loss, low energy, menstruation cramps and restless sleep. For as long as she could remember, she had been dealing with emotional issues i.e. shame, sad, excessive worry and fear. 

       Before Mrs. K’s came to see me, she had just started a new round of IVF and hoped that acupuncture could increase her chance of getting pregnant. She talked a great length about her medical history, life, stress, depression and uncontrollable anxiety towards this “one last chance”. Her pulses were extremely thin in all positions with kidney yin being the thinnest. The liver position felt wiry. 

             I performed acupuncture on her twice a week aiming to supplement her kidneys, smooth liver Qi, transform blood stasis and increase blood flow to her uterus. The needles used were 0.20×30 mm, Spring type (DBC, Korea) on body points, and 0.16×15 mm, D-type (Red Seirin, Japan) needles on the ears and scalp. Points used included LI4, PC7, ST40, ST36, KI3, KI7, SP9, SP6 and LR3. In addition, ID (Internal Dragons), ED (External Dragons), AE (Aggressive Energy) protocols according to J.R. Worsely system as well as auricular, scalp acupuncture were used to address her emotional imbalance. One month after her first treatment, a biopsy revealed that her uterine lining increased to 5mm- a slight improvement but quite far from the minimal acceptable thickness of 8mm for pregnancy. I therefore added CV4 and CV6 to my point prescription. I suggested herbal formulas but she declined to use them. 

              On January 23, 2017, another biopsy revealed that her uterine lining increased to 7mm! She was excited about the improvement and scheduled the embryo transfer on February 8. I accompanied her to the transfer procedure and treated her immediately before and after the procedure, in order to calm and nourish the uterus and maintain implantation of the embryo. Unfortunately, the transfer failed to result in conception. 

                Although the IVF was not successful, the acupuncture treatments were invaluable as it not only improved the thickness of the uterine lining from 4mm to 7mm, It also improved the patient’s emotional well being. 

References: 

Liang L, (2003). Acupuncture and IVF. Boulder, CO: Blue Poppy Press.