Comments on: Tubal Ligation Reversal After 40 | Pregnancy and Infertility

By: Charles Monteith MD

Charles Monteith MD — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:51:35 +0000

Danie
You need to see a doctor right away if your pregnancy test is positive and you have already had a tubal ligation. There is a very high chance the pregnancy is in your tubes (ectopic pregnancy).

By: danie

danie — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:31:33 +0000

I am a 45 years old women with 3 children and have my tubes cut, clamped, and burned. I have not see my period for 3 months now? I have done a pregnancy test which is positive. I am scared to find out if am really pregnant, but I will welcome the baby anyway. I need to know if this is possible?

By: Charles Monteith MD

Charles Monteith MD — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:49:29 +0000

Michelle If you are still having periods after your endometrial ablation then a tubal reversal could give you a good chance of becoming pregnant. Pregnancies after an endometrial ablation are consider higher risk but many of these pregnancies do well. Please call (919) 968-4656 for a free nurse consultation.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:34:49 +0000

I had my tubes tied about 13 years ago and an endometrial ablation done about 3 years ago. The ablation helped decrease my period but I still have one. Is there and way for me to be able to have a baby. Michelle

By: Rosa

Rosa — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:00:16 +0000

I am a 48yr old woman. I had my tubes tied in 1983 at the age of 21. I am now preparing to marry a great man that has no children and I desire to have a child for him. Is it possible.? I realize nothing is impossible with God. I will also like to know if you have success rates in such cases.

By: Dr. Berger

Dr. Berger — Sat, 30 May 2009 10:55:02 +0000

BARBARA - We will be happy to help you. As you can see from the heading of our page, we are located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Here is a link to the Tubal Reversal Cost at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. You can call (919 968-4656 for a free consultation with a Tubal Reversal Nurse.

By: BARBARA

BARBARA — Sat, 30 May 2009 07:20:34 +0000

I had a tubaligation reversal around 4 yrs & I’ve not been able to concieve due to 1 of my tubes are blocked. I’m needing to know where your office is & will you be able to help me to concieve & how much will it be.
Thanks, Barbara

By: Dr. Berger

Dr. Berger — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:53:45 +0000

CINDY R. - To answer your question, look at the Pregnancy Statistics after Tubal Reversal for our patients. If you have any other questions, you can call (919) 968-4656 for a free consultation with a Tubal Reversal Nurse.

By: Cindy R.

Cindy R. — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:02:31 +0000

I have 2 kids and had my tubiligation in 1998. I am 39 and am engaged to be married. He doesnt have any kids. I am very active, and healthy. What are the possibilities of having a baby if I have my tubes reversed?

By: Dr. Berger

Dr. Berger — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 09:52:10 +0000

Yes, it is probably true that a woman with proven fertility in the past is more likely to conceive again in her early forties than a woman who has never become pregnant or given birth. The latter case may be an indication of an underlying infertility problem.

By: Michelle Thomas

Michelle Thomas — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:28:05 +0000

When a women wishes to conceive in her early forties is the chance of conceiving higher provided she has given birth in the past, unlike a women who has never conceived and wishes to become pregnant?

By: Kathy

Kathy — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:36:56 +0000

You have been able to explain age and fertility very well, Dr. Monteith, especially with the graph you submitted. The “biological clock” tends to add stress to our more mature patients, but as you have mentioned, age and fertility with conception can vary.

By: Jan

Jan — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:58:57 +0000

This is a helpful article from Dr. Monteith. Many times women forget that some women don’t conceive naturally and are considered barren. Statistics determining the likelihood of pregnancy need to include all situations regarding infertility.

By: Charles Monteith MD

Charles Monteith MD — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:38:09 +0000

Thanks for your questions Tamika and Derek.

Tamika
You are okay for surgery. We will perform out patient tubal reversal surgery on any women with a BMI less than 35.
You are correct in your BMI calculation; however, you might have misinterpreted the calculators classification. It calculated your BMI as 27.3 and put you in the “Overweight” category. These categories are determined by medical and insurance groups. Although they may consider you over the weight you should be based on your height, you are okay for surgery at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center.

Derek
IVF has about a 30% chance of success per try and each try cost $9,000-12,000 dollars. Tubal reversal with our center, at this time is $4,900-5,900 and an average success of 70%.
In this blog series we will later discuss how many IVF experts will begin to recommend the use of donor eggs in the age range of 40-43. This has to also be considered when thinking of IVF. You have to have a consultation with your IVF expert to determine at what age they recommend the use of donor eggs.

By: Tamika and Derek

Tamika and Derek — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 19:18:45 +0000

We are interested in having Dr. Monteith do our tubal reversal. I am a 40 year old woman and I had my tubal ligation done in 1995 at a hospital in the Bronx. I am overweight but I am trying to loose some weight before I schedule my surgery date. I was wondering how much weight do you suggest I lose with my weight being 164lbs? I am 5′5″. According to the BMI chart my score showed 27.5.
This is from my fiance Derek he would like to know is this the best thing for us to do or would IVF work better for a woman my age?

By: Dr. Berger

Dr. Berger — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:21:12 +0000

Lorraine - You can contact the hospital where you tubal ligation was performed using the Medical Records Release Form. If you are unable to obtain the operative report, we can start the procedure with screening laparoscopy.

By: Charles Monteith MD

Charles Monteith MD — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:19:54 +0000

An operative report is preferred but not mandatory. You would contact the hospital where your tubal ligation was done. Some hospitals will destroy records after a certain time frame. In this case, many patients will come for surgery without their operative reports or they will consider a screening laparoscopy to evaluate the condition of their tubes prior to a abdominal incision.

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:04:46 +0000

I am a 43 year old, divorced for 4 years. I had my tubes tied 9 years ago after the birth of my last child. I am now engaged to a wonderful man and we have discussed that we would like to have a baby together. I realize that the odds are slimmer due to my advanced age but I’d like to try all the same. I’m not sure about the kind of tubal ligation I had. I have relocated to another state. Would I contact the hospital or would I need to contact the obgyn office? Is there a way to determine this if I am unable to obtain my records?

By: Charles Monteith MD

Charles Monteith MD — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:40:11 +0000

Thanks for your comment Lynne.

The source for the graph was The Fertility Sourcebook by M. Sara Rosenthal. Although the graph was shown in the book, the source of the data was not provided.

I began researching the topic of the effect of age on fecundity late last summer. I was not able to find a single visual representation or medical publication of the impact of age on fecundity or infertility. This graph was the only one we had on file and we decided to use it because it provides a visual representation of what we all know to be true. If any reader can provide us any recent data on fecundity and age, then we would be very appreciative.

The graph should not be overly interpreted because determining fecundity is hard. It is inherently difficult to determine what the likelihood of pregnancy is in a given age group- it is hard to measure and is fraught with bias. It is even more difficult in a group of older women because a large number of these women will not be trying, will have had tubal ligations or hysterectomies, or may have severe medical problems.

The numbers represented in the graph should not be taken verbatim but, more importantly; they provide an approximate representation of the observation of decreasing ability to become pregnant as a woman approaches menopause.

By: Charles Monteith MD

Charles Monteith MD — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:25:28 +0000

Tristana
We hear stories like these all the time from patients.
There is hope for you. Your tubal ligation can be reversed and pregnacy is possible. If you send us a copy of your tubal ligation operative report (if available), then we can help you. Even if a patient can not get their operative reports, then the majority (98%) of the time their tubal ligaitons can be reversed.

By: tristana

tristana — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:03:53 +0000

I had my 5 children very young and my twins were born in 1990. I didn’t realize at the time what was going on, but was told at Bay Front hospital to under go surgery and the next thing I know they had went through my navel and did a tubal ligation. I was very upset about this because I was told a lie. I never signed any agreement. Now its been years and I just got married 2 months ago. My other kids are all grown up now and would love to have another baby. Please tell me someone can help?

By: Lynne

Lynne — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:09:43 +0000

That graph is really interesting! I’d love to know where you got the information and see it in written form as well. Do you have a citation?

By: Pamela Mills, CRNA

Pamela Mills, CRNA — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:22:09 +0000

I love the graph! It really does give a good visual explanation of the effect age may have on fertility.
Thank you.

By: Ericka Pamplin

Ericka Pamplin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:52:24 +0000

Thank you Dr. Monteith! I think that this information will be comforting to the readers. It is straight forward and honest! You are absolutely correct in that we can not determine if someone will or will not become pregnant. However, since we have patients that have the tubal reversal for reasons other than conception, it is important that they understand why we do not impose an age limit.