April 30th, 2008
Dr. Montieth’s Diary on Becoming a Tubal Reversal Specialist
Today we had another successful day of untying tubes. We began the day at 7AM. Four patients were scheduled for tubal ligation reversal surgery.
I was able to first assist Dr. Berger in the first three surgeries of the day, but had to leave prior to the fourth surgery. I am becoming proficient at identifying tubal anatomy and repairing tubes that have been tied.
The first patient had her tubes tied several years ago and she was now in a new relationship. Both she and her partner desired more children. They made the decision that they would undergo tubal ligation reversal and try to pursue their dream of having children together. Her surgery went well and we were able to successfully reverse her tubal ligation.
The second patient was similar to the first and desired more children. Her surgery also went well.
The third patient had her tubes tied, but after her surgery she lost a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). We often hear stories like this from many patients who come to Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. It is extremely sad to hear the stories these patients tell. My heart aches for them as they try to replace their children and add to their family. Every time I hear these stories I think of my own children and what it would be like to experience such a loss. I can not fully imagine the pain from such loss but I can understand the strong desire to replace a cherished soul. I am happy to report that her surgery went extremely well and she had an excellent operative result. I take enjoyment out of every reversal surgery I have participated in, and feel an extra sense of accomplishment when assisting in untying tubes for patients who have lost children unexpectedly.
I had to leave before the fourth patient had surgery. Fortunately, I will be back in the morning for four more reversal surgeries and to meet four more interesting people and learn about their stories.
April 27th, 2008
The Doctor Who Unties Tubes
Dr. Gary Berger is a tubal reversal doctor who specializes exclusively in procedures to untie tubes. Dr. Berger created the first and only tubal reversal clinic – Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. This is the best place to get tubes untied for women who want another baby after tubal ligation.
Why Untie Tubes?
One of the questions Dr. Berger asks his patients is what made them decide to have their tubes untied. In answering this question, women describe the circumstances which led them to want another child after tubal ligation. Most cases involve divorce and remarriage. Often the husband has no children, and the couple would like to have a family of their own. Some couples already have children together but realize that having a tubal ligation was a decision that they regret. Death of a child, religious considerations, and the desire to relieve symptoms of “Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome” are other reasons for wanting to get tubes untied.
Pregnancy After Tubes Tied
Although there are many websites that discuss reverse tubal ligation, information about success rates is often lacking or stated in general terms. To make a fully informed decision about tubal reversal, women should have specific and accurate statistics about pregnancies regarding a doctor’s own patients rather than a general statistic taken from some other source. Otherwise, it has little meaning.
Tubal Reversal Center Pregnancies
Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center provides information each week about pregnancies after tubal reversal procedures performed by Dr. Berger. Whenever one of Dr. Berger’s patients becomes pregnant, they can submit a Pregnancy Report Form to alert the Tubal Reversal Center staff of their pregnancy. This enables Dr. Berger and his nurses to monitor the results of the Early Pregnancy Protocol that is recommend by Dr. Berger. Each week, the new pregnancy reports are tabulated and listed in the Weekly Pregnancy Reports forum on the Tubal Reversal Message Board. During this past week, there were 20 new pregnancies reported by Dr. Berger’s tubal reversal patients. This is more than reported in a year by most doctors who perform tubal reversal procedures! Additional information about the new pregnancies is shown in the Pregnancy Announcements section of the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center website. A complete statistical analysis of the outcome of all tubal reversals is published as the Tubal Reversal Study Report each year.
Conclusion
By establishing a medical facility exclusively for tubal reversal procedures that untie tubes, following up on all patients who have had a reverse tubal ligation, and publishing their pregnancy statistics, Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center has set a new standard for other doctors who provide tubal reversal services to follow.
