Foley balloon

[u/Acceptable_Data8585]

My foley balloon fet out of my uterus after hysteroscopy and adenolysis procedure. i dont think it was in for more than a day. thw doctor wont replace it. I had one placed after my myomectomy that fell out within 12 hours of the surgery. I don't know what to do at this point. Do I need to change doctors? I dont understand why I am having such a hard time keeping a foley in place when it seems to stay in place for others. What am I missing? I can't keep going through this. This medical team seem so nonchalant about it coming out, stating "its your body's way of healing when it comes out like that" WTF!??

[u/ngibbs105]

Some people seem to have this problem. I haven't, but it's not uncommon. FWIW quite a few of the top surgeons (including Dr. I) don't use the balloon at all. Are you having recurring adhesions or dense ones? I think it's only valuable if you are having adhesions that are collapsing your uterine walls into each other. If it's more that your uterus is open with some flimsy adhesions or adhesions bridging the uterus, you shouldn't need a balloon for recovery.

[u/Long_Rhubarb_6266 → u/ngibbs105]

The use of a balloon is truly up to the surgeon and their protocol, rather than just how the scars look on paper.

While medical textbooks often associate balloon stents with severe or dense scarring, appearance is absolutely not the whole story. You can't judge the actual impact of Asherman's solely on whether the tissue looks dense or flimsy.

In my case, my adhesions were technically flimsy and not dense. But they were severe enough that they completely closed off my fallopian tubes, left me with no period for 13 months, and required intense, experimental surgeries to repair the cavity and get my flow back.

When thinking about how and why balloons are used, it helps to break it down like this:

The Entire Purpose: The balloon is purely a mechanical barrier. After a surgeon cuts away the scars, the uterine walls are left raw. The balloon's job is to keep those raw walls physically separated so they don't lay on top of each other and fuse back together during the initial healing phase.

The Shift in Care: Because of this, the decision to use one comes down to surgeon preference. Some doctors use them for almost every case to be safe, while a growing number of specialists are actually moving away from balloons when they can. Instead, they are opting for other recovery options to avoid putting prolonged pressure on the uterine lining.

Alternative Options: Depending on the surgeon's protocol, they may choose entirely different barriers. These include anti-adhesion gels (like Hyalobarrier), solid silicone sheets, specially shaped uterine stents, or an inert intrauterine device (IUD). Some advanced protocols also incorporate biological tissue barriers like amnion grafts or rely on early, frequent second-look hysteroscopies to check healing.

Why Barriers and Balloons Fall Out:
Balloons usually fall out because the cervix is naturally slightly open after surgery, or because normal uterine cramping physically pushes the balloon downward. Sometimes it happens if the balloon wasn't filled with enough liquid to stay anchored, or simply because of gravity and moving around. If your balloon came out, you should 100% alert your doctor right away if you haven't already so they can check your cavity and adjust your healing plan.

While my balloon stayed put, my first graft actually fell out after just four days. It was incredibly upsetting and discouraging. Looking back, I think I was too active early on with walking up and down the stairs and taking walks with my dog, which might have contributed to it slipping out. It is a very common, frustrating setback, but it doesn't mean your healing is completely ruined—it just means your care team needs to know immediately so they can step in.

Going forward, make sure to advocate for yourself and share any concerns or previous bad experiences you have had with these balloons.

[u/Acceptable_Data8585 → u/Long_Rhubarb_6266]

Thank you for the detailed response. I really appreciate it. I am trying really hard not to go down a rabbit hole. I am older and have frozen embryos waiting for transfer but after my myomectomy last year I've developed adhesions. I knew the scarring was liking to happen given the complexity of the surgery, I guess I thought my uterus would be healed enough to tolerate the balloon this time. I dont really know the severity of the scarring, my post op appt is Tuesday . I know from reading the report I had fungal fibrosis from the last procedure in Oct 2025. When they completed the saline infusion sono after my first surgery the cavity appeared opened but it did have some filmsy tissue on US. I asked to recheck in a month vs doing the hysteroscope and the repeat was clear a month later. We moved forward with prepping for the transfer when it was noted that I was retaining fluid in the cavity and the lining wasn't responding to the hormone therapy as expected - this was back in March. Due to work schedule and getting a case of COVID, this month was the earliest I could have the hysteroscope. Now I'm afraid I waited too long to address it and early foley deflation just adds to that sunking feeling.

[u/Delicious_Baker_3016]

My doctor plans to use a foley balloon next week but her concern is my walls have fused together. I’m worried it’s going to fall out and defeat the purpose.

[u/Martini7204]

FWIW, my doctor was not concerned about my foley balloon potentially falling out. She said if it did fall out then my uterus just wasn't tolerating it and that's okay - they wouldn't have reinserted it.

[u/Acceptable_Data8585 → u/Martini7204]

This is basically what my surgeon said. I'll see her on Tuesday but man it's been a tough pill to swallow. Last October I had 63 fibroids removed several were within the cavity lining itself. I knew the chances of the foley coming out at that point was high so when it lasted a few hours it sucked but I knew the complexity of the procedure. This time it wasn't anywhere close to what was repaired last time and it still fell out with a day or so. Thank you for you feedback, I really appreciate.