January 30th, 2008
Women who are seeking the best tubal ligation reversal physicians come to Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. It is the only medical practice or facility dedicated exclusively to repairing fallopian tubes after tubal ligations. Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is widely recognized as the tubal reversal facility that has the best patient care and the highest documented pregnancy and birth rates, while offering low cost outpatient tubal reversals.
Tubal Reversal Physicians at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center
Our Medical Director, Dr. Gary Berger, has specialized in tubal reversals for 30 years. He is now in the process of training Dr. Charles Monteith as a tubal reversal physician. Dr. Monteith will join the practice in July 2008, at which time he will offer low cost tubal reversals of tubal ligation. During July and August 2008, a special discounted fee of $4900 will be available to patients who schedule their tubal reversal procedures with Dr. Monteith.
Dr. Charles Monteith graduated Summa Cum Laude from Xavier University and received his Medical Degree from the University of California at San Francisco. Following a Howard Hughes Research Fellowship in molecular biology, he completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001. Since then he has been a Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of North Carolina Medical School. Dr. Monteith is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and has extensive experience in laparoscopic surgery and high risk obstetrics.
Explaining his decision to join Dr. Berger in practice, Dr. Monteith says, “My interest in tubal ligation reversal comes from my love of outpatient surgery and the desire to learn skills which are becoming a dying art. My hope is to be able to continue to practice tubal reversal surgery and to keep it as an option for patients who have had prior tubal ligation and desire to become pregnant.”
Low Cost Reversals of Tubal Ligation
A special discounted fee of $4900 will be available to patients who schedule their tubal reversal procedures with Dr. Monteith for July and August 2008. If you have questions or would like further information about scheduling your tubal reversal procedure with Dr. Monteith, please contact Julia Smith, RN at (919) 656-8204.
Dr. Berger’s Comment
It is truly a pleasure to be working with Dr. Monteith, who has already established a reputation as an outstanding ob/gyn physician. By the time he completes his 6 month fellowship in tubal reversal surgery with me, he will be well qualified and certified as a Tubal Reversal Physician.
January 20th, 2008
Tubal reversal surgery is becoming a lost skill among doctors in training, according to an article in the January 2008 issue of Fertility and Sterility, the most influential medical journal for reproductive specialists. The article states, “The future for tubal anastomosis seems grim…and, like the Roman Empire, may be lost in Antiquity.”
The thesis of the article was that almost exclusive concentration on IVF and related reproductive technologies has decreased the training of reproductive specialists in tubal reparative surgery to repair tubal blockage.
“The success of surgical tubal anastomosis is directly linked to surgical experience. With the advent of ART, surgical training has markedly declined, and there remain few fellowship programs with meaningful numbers of surgical cases. One study reported that most of the current Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility fellows performed less than 10 procedures and 35% of program graduates performed no surgical tubal reversals in the previous year.”
Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is for Patient Care
Patients have occasionally asked me if, with the experience I have had performing tubal reversals, I was teaching other physicians to perform this kind of surgery. Since Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is a private practice dedicated to patient care – not a training institution – I have not previously taught other physicians the skills acquired over the 30 years I have been practicing as a reproductive surgeon. Having residents or RE fellows coming here for brief periods would allow only an introduction to the techniques of tubal reparative surgery. This would be insufficient for them to acquire all of the skills necessary to perform tubal reversals.
Introducing Dr. Charles Monteith
Recently, Dr. Charles Monteith, an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UNC School of Medicine, requested a mentoring relationship with me to learn the techniques of tubal reversal surgery. Dr. Monteith is a board certified obstetrician-gynecologist with 6 years of surgical experience subsequent to completing his residency at the UCSF Medical Center. He has begun assisting me in surgery and will continue to do so on selected dates during the next 6 months. Some of the patients who have come here since January 1st have already met him. With his prior surgical experience, and after an extended training period, Dr. Monteith will become certified as a Tubal Reversal Specialist and join our staff in July 2008.
Dr. Berger’s Comment
My response, therefore, to the Fertility and Sterility article is that tubal anastomosis will not become “lost in Antiquity”. Perhaps in the future, other physicians will follow the path that Dr. Monteith has chosen to learn the skills and techniques required for successful tubal reversal operations. More information about Dr. Monteith will be available in forthcoming blog posts and on the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center website.
