How Important Is a Tubal Reversal Doctor’s Experience?
Of the many questions I receive daily from potential patients, one of the most important questions is what makes Dr. Berger the best choice to perform tubal reversal vs. another doctor. With a specialized procedure such as tubal ligation reversal, surgical experience is the most important factor in predicting success from the operation. Dr. Berger has performed more than 7000 tubal reversal operations and has the most experience of any tubal surgeon in the world.
Tubal Repairs That Other Doctors Could Not Perform
We routinely hear from women who have gone to a nearby doctor for a tubal reversal, only to have the doctor stop the procedure before repairing the tubes because an unexpected situation was encountered during surgery. There are multiple situations where this may happen:
1. No isthmic tubal segment remains and tubouterine implantation needs to be performed.
There are few, if any, other doctors who can perform this type of operation and none could do so as outpatient surgery. At Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, Dr. Berger has successfully performed this type of operation many times as a safe and effective outpatient operation.
2. A fimbriectomy has been performed.
Tubal ligation by fimbriectomy involves removing a portion (usually up to one-third) of the fallopian tube closest to the ovary. To our knowledge there are no other doctors performing fimbriectomy reversals. The pregnancy rate following fimbriectomy reversal performed by Dr. Berger is 56%.
3. The patient has only a proximal tubal segment (attached to the uterus) on one side and a distal tubal segment (near the ovary) on the other side.
This is an unusual situation, but Dr. Berger has successfully attached these two segments on opposite sides of the body to create one tube with 2/3 women becoming pregnant afterwards. This operation has not been described in the medical literature. Dr. Berger calls this operation “contralateral tubotubal anastomosis”.
4. The patient is found at the time of surgery to have inherent disease of the fallopian tubes due to tubal endometriosis, salpingitis isthmica nodosa, or pelvic inflammatory disease. In these situations, Dr. Berger removes the diseased tubal segment and repairs the fallopian tube with the most appropriate reversal operation.
Experience Is The Most Important Consideration
Experience is the most important indicator of whether successful tubal reversal surgery can be performed when a woman has a difficult tubal reversal situation due to short tubes, missing tubal segments, fimbriectomy, or inherent diseases of the tubes. While most doctors would be unwilling – or unable – to perform a reversal procedure in one of these situations, Dr. Gary Berger is able to repair the tubes in 98% of cases, regardless of the type of sterilization that has been performed or whether difficult situations are encountered.
Submitted by Julia Smith, R.N.
Nurse Administrator
If you have questions or would like assistance scheduling your surgery, please contact me.
JuliaS@tubal-reversal.net
(919) 656-8204
The fallopian tube begins within the muscular wall of the uterus (interstitial segment), leads away from the uterine wall (isthmic segment), becomes wider (ampulla), extends to the widest area near the end of the tube (infundibulum), and ends next to the ovary (fimbrial segment).
