Tubal Reversal And Short Tubes: Pregnant!
Denita and her husband Kareem share an inspirational story. Together they are a testament to how odds can be overcome after having a tubal ligation reversal. Denita became pregnant after tubal reversal at the age of 40.
She agreed to share her story with readers of our Tubal Reversal Blog.
A Personal Story About Tubal Ligation Reversal Success
Denita is 40 years old and lives in Bennettsville, South Carolina. She is remarried and her husband, Kareem, has no children. Denita and Kareem traveled to Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center seeking to have her tubes untied (tubal ligation reversal). They want to have a child together.
After Tubal Ligation: A Tragedy
Denita was the mother of three boys. During her last pregnancy, she had an agreement with her previous husband she would have a tubal ligation if they had a girl. Denita’s fourth pregnancy was indeed a baby girl and, shortly after giving birth, Denita underwent a ligation and resection tubal ligation procedure.
The day after her tubal ligation, the father of Denita’s four children unexpectedly died from complications of diabetes. Denita was left as the single parent of four young children.
Denita eventually met Kareem and they decided to get married. Kareem had no children. Denita was not interested in in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. They began to investigate tubal ligation reversal. It took them eight months to decide reversal surgery was right for them.
Where To Have A Tubal Ligation Reversal?
Denita’s girlfriend had a tubal reversal in Mexico. Denita considered going to Mexico, but decided it was not the right choice for her. Her girlfriend initially paid less for her procedure than did Denita; however, after adding in airfare, travel, international border crossing fees, and lodging Denita’s girlfriend paid an amount similar to what she would have paid if she had stayed in the United States for her procedure.
Although Denita considered going abroad for her reversal, she decided it was more important for her to stay locally and be able to see her reversal surgeon immediately if she had a complication from the procedure or if her tubes remained closed after the reversal surgery.
A Specialized Center For Tubal Ligation Reversal
Denita found Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center by searching on the Internet. The website for Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center repeatedly came up. She ultimately decided to travel to Chapel Hill because she felt she would get the best care in the only center that exclusively performs tubal reversal surgery.
Denita On Having A Tubal Ligation Reversal
Denita underwent tubal ligation reversal in July 2008. Her surgery was performed by Dr. Monteith and lasted 78 minutes. She had both tubes reversed and her tubal lengths were 3.0 and 3.5 cm. She did well during the surgery and was discharged to the Sheraton Hotel for her post-operative recovery. She had very little pain after her surgery and was doing well enough to return home and go shopping. The third day after surgery she was slightly more uncomfortable and had to forgo additional shopping.
Tubal Ligation Reversal Success: Pregnancy
Denita and Kareem wanted to become pregnant as soon as possible after her surgery. They did not want it to be a stressful so they made a promise they would not be overly focused on becoming pregnant. Denita started taking her prenatal vitamins and they gradually began to try and become pregnant.
Denita become pregnant during the first week of September 2008 – only 6 weeks after her ligation reversal!
Her doctor was supportive of her having a ligation reversal but was very surprised to see her become pregnant so quickly. She and her doctor followed our Early Pregnancy Protocol and they were quickly able to determine the pregnancy was not an ectopic pregnancy.
She had an ultrasound and they saw a baby inside her uterus. Denita was 7 weeks and 4 days with a good fetal heartbeat and on the start of a healthy pregnancy.
Since Denita was forty years old, her doctor encouraged her to have early testing for Down’s syndrome. She and Kareem decided to put their faith in God and did not have any prenatal testing for genetic abnormalities. Their pregnancy has been highly sought and very desired. They have decided they will love whatever God has chosen to give them.
Pregnancy After Tubal Reversal
Denita is doing very well at this time. She is not feeling any morning sickness and they already have two names picked out: Kareem Jr. if it is a boy and Kareema Marie if it is a girl. Denita is due to deliver in late May or early June 2009.
This is a special story for me for several reasons:
1. Denita was one of the first five of my patients who reported pregnancies during my first two weeks of my new career as a tubal reversal specialist. Denita will be the second recipient of the “I am a Monteith Miracle” T-shirt.
2. Denita is 40 years young. Many of our patients will come for reversal surgery and are concerned because of their age. It is good to see other patients who have had reversal over the age of 40 and become pregnant. Readers are also encouraged to read the personal story of Dawne, Natural Pregnancy at 46 After Tubal Reversal. Dawne was a previous patient of ours who had a successful pregnancy after having her tubes untied at the age of 45.
3. Denita had shorter tubal lengths after tubal reversal surgery than our average reversal patient. Her tubal lengths were 3 and 3.5 cm. Many patients are concerned after reversal surgery when they are told they have tubal lengths less than 4 cm. Denita’s story of quick pregnancy success demonstrates pregnancy is possible after tubal reversal even with shorter length tubes.
Submitted by Dr. Charles Monteith
More Information On Tubal Reversal Surgery…
Readers are invited to visit our website Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center for more information on tubal surgery and join daily patient discussions on our Tubal Reversal Message Board.
Advice On Tubal Reversal Surgery
Readers who want personal advice on tubal reversal surgery can call (919) 968-4656 for a free nurse consultation.
Our next two patient stories are:
Tubal Reversal Sisters: A Journey Together. A great story about four couples who bonded together the day of their reversal surgeries.
International Ligation Tubal Reversal: Age 40. This story details Susan and Stephen who traveled to us for tubal reversal surgery from the United Arab Emirates.
October 27th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
[...] and others are much older. Some patients are Caucasian and from the mid-west while others are African American from the south. Many tubal reversal patients come to Chapel Hill with spouses but some come with family [...]
July 7th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I was almost in tears when I read your story. I have been through a lot in my life. I am 34 yrs old, have been married two times, and now I have met someone who loves me for me. I have four kids, but only one lives with me. He has two boys, but he did not get to raise them, so we want to get married and have a couple of kids of our own. He wants kids that he can see grow up. My tubes were tied about 8 years ago. I want to get them revised, but i am having a big problem with the money. I could make payments but I can not get anyone to do it, so i do not know what to do. Well, any way, I hope they have a great time with their new baby. God bless.
June 30th, 2009 at 9:15 am
[...] Denita: Tubal Reversal And Short Tubes: Pregnant! [...]
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I desperately want to have the tubal reversal surgery I am soon to be married for the second time, and my fiancee wants us to have children. I am thirty-eight and want to get it done as soon as possible, my only problem is saving up all the money I have recently purchased a beautiful home and my son is starting high school one of the best private schools in New York state which has depleted the majority of my savings. My question is, I have seen ads for grants that will help pay for tubal reversals. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this ad? I have responded to the ad but have not heard back from them yet.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
God bless you and your family.
May 22nd, 2009 at 3:06 pm
This is an amazing story! I wish many congrats to Denita and her husband and am excited for them about they’re up coming birth! I have been checking this place out for about 6 months I finally talked to my ob/gyn about how reversable my tubal is and he said that I should have a good outcome and this is actually the place he sends his patients to! Yay! These stories are very uplifting as Donna says and I just get so excited reading them. I only had my tubal done last year but regretted it within a few months of having it done..my hubby and I are planning on having the tubal reversed in about 2 years!
May 18th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
[...] Denita: Tubal Reversal And Short Tubes: Pregnant! [...]
May 14th, 2009 at 11:18 am
This is such a heartwarming story.Its always good to hear when nice things happen to wonderful people.
May 13th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Congratulations, Denita and Kareem. Keep us posted!
May 13th, 2009 at 6:52 am
Thanks for taking the time to share your story with others who are in similar situations. Testimonies are powerful and helpful in deciding to proceed with tubal reversal.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
What a wonderful and inspiring story. Just goes to show where there’s a will there is a way!
May 12th, 2009 at 10:45 am
Congradulations, We are so very happy that we could help make your dreams come true. I wish you all the best with your new family. God bless.
Tabatha MA
May 12th, 2009 at 9:51 am
[...] We have also recently published the story of Denita who became pregnant at the age of 40 after a tubal reversal and having short tubes: Tubal Reversal And Short Tubes: Pregnant! [...]
May 12th, 2009 at 5:57 am
Congratulations, Denita!
May 11th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
This is a very uplifting story; full of hope and promise for their future together. Thank you for sharing your story. It should give many couples hope. Age and tubal lenghts are very important factors for getting pregnant. Hope your next few weeks pass quickly. Good luck