Tubal Reversal Blog January, 2008

Past topics in the Tubal Reversal Blog include posts and comments about patient care at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. This topic summarizes important articles about tubal ligation and tubal reversal reported in the news during 2007.

Sterilization is Most Popular Family Planning Method
Approximately 10 million American women use the pill for contraception, while sterilization has been chosen by 15 million men and women.

One In Five Women Regret Decision For Tubal Ligation
One in five women under age 30 who undergo tubal sterilization later regret the procedure, despite the number of children they have.

Is Sterilization the Best Contraception Choice?
Women requesting a tubal ligation should be counseled regarding other long-term, reversible methods of contraception and informed that vasectomy is safer and more effective than tubal ligation.

Relationship Conflict Before Sterilization
Women whose relationship was marked by substantial conflict before they underwent tubal ligation were most likely to regret the decision.

Young Age, Prodding Partner and Sterilization Regret
Young age and a prodding partner are risk factors indicating that a woman undergoing sterilization may later regret her decision.

Tubal Reversal Among Overweight Women
Overweight women’s chances of becoming pregnant after tubal reversal improve when they lose weight.

Dr. Berger’s Comment

These news reports touch on some of the issues patients talk about when they come to Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center for tubal sterilization reversal. The popularity of tubal ligation, and the fact that many women regret their decision to have a tubal ligation, are well documented. Young age and marital conflict are risk indicators for subsequent regret. Before performing a tubal ligation, doctors should ensure that the implications of ending childbearing potential are clearly understood and discuss vasectomy as an alternative permanent method of birth control. Women undergoing tubal reversal who are overweight should be aware that losing weight will improve their chances of becoming pregnant again.

In a recent email inquiry, someone asked if it would be safer to have tubal reversal surgery in a hospital. My response – “It is much safer to have tubal reversal surgery performed at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center than in a hospital.”

Infection and Medication Error Risks in Hospitals

Roughly 100,000 people wind up with a potentially deadly infection during hospital treatment in the US each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Hospital-acquired infections (also called “nosocomial” infections) are particularly dangerous, since hospital germs are especially resistant to antibiotics. One example in the news recently is the bacteria called methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Most of these dangerous bacteria are transmitted by hospital staff from other patients. In addition, hospital patients get the wrong drug one time out of five, according to a study by Auburn University.

Patient-safety incidents continue to rise in American hospitals. The largest increases involve hospital-acquired infections and post operative sepsis (overwhelming infection).

A Chicago Tribune study revealed that serious violations of infection-control standards have been found in the vast majority of hospitals nationally. Since 1995, more than 75 percent of all hospitals have been cited for significant cleanliness and sanitation violations. This report says:

A hidden epidemic of life-threatening infections is contaminating America’s hospitals, needlessly killing tens of thousands of patients each year. Nearly three-quarters of the deadly infections are preventable, the result of unsanitary facilities, germ-laden instruments, unwashed hands and other lapses.

Deaths linked to hospital germs represent the fourth leading cause of mortality among Americans, behind heart disease, cancer and strokes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These infections kill more people each year than car accidents, fires and drowning combined.

“The number of people needlessly killed by hospital infections is unbelievable, but the public doesn’t know anything about it,” said Dr. Barry Farr, a leading infection-control expert and president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

Dr. Berger’s Comment

When it comes to cleanliness and strict adherence to infection control procedures, there is no medical or surgical facility better than Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. Our patients often comment about the meticulous nature of our facility. It is clean, orderly, and uncluttered. We are obsessive about this.

The idea that it may be safer to have elective surgery in a hospital is wrong. Hospitals are the right place for treating complicated medical or surgical problems, but they are not the best place for healthy people to have tubal reversal surgery!

Note

Dr. Berger was an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).