We are often asked by web site visitors if a surgery to reverse a tubal ligation really works? Can it be successful?
Many women have had it drilled into their head by their doctors that the procedure is both permanent and irreversible. They are told that “once it is done ….then it’s done”.
At the time women request and accept their tubal ligation they often readily agree. Occasionally with the passage of time the world seems different and the previous decision to have a tubal is often regretted.
A tubal ligation should be considered permanent but when you consider something permanent that does not mean it has to be permanent. The vows of marriage should be considered permanent but we all know that being married is not always a permanent decision you have to live with.
Reverse tubal ligation surgery is an option for women who have had their tubes tied and reversing a tubal ligation can be successful.
Is Tubal Ligation Permanent?
We recently added a new feature to our website: Ask The Doctor.
Ask The Doctor was created to allow potential tubal reversal patients to ask pertinent questions about tubal ligation reversal surgery. Recently I received this question from a woman who wants to have more children after her tubal ligation procedure:
I had my tubes burnt in 3 places and I was told by a fertility doctor that IVF is better for me and tubal reversal isn’t, is that true?
This is an important question asked by many women. The answer to this question may not always be what you have been told.
Can Burned Tubes Be Reversed?
Our Reversal Success rates demonstrate that 66% percent of women who have their tubes burned can become pregnant after reversing surgery.
Oftentimes people don’t believe our statistics because they seem too good to be true or because they have been misinformed by their doctors. We encouraged visitors to read the Pregnancy Testimonials submitted by women who have had successful reversals of burned tubes.
If you need additional reassurance then visit our Tubal Reversal Facebook group or join our Tubal Reversal Message Board and get direct feedback from patients themselves.
Is IVF Better Than Reversal?
It is important to know several facts before making a decision about IVF or tubal reversal.
The average cost for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is around $12,000 for each cycle and each cycle averages 37% chance of pregnancy success (having a baby).1 Tubal reversal at our facility costs $5900 and the average pregnancy success is 60-70%.2
Neither method is 100% but one great advantage of tubal reversal is you can have more than one child over time and pregnancy success measured over time can far surpass a single cycle of IVF. This was recently acknowledged in the summary of a tubal surgery committee opinion issued by the American Society For Reproductive Medicine.3
“Tubal anastomosis for reversal of tubal sterilization has a significantly higher cumulative pregnancy rate than IVF, and it is more cost efficient, even in women 40 years of age or older.”
Reversal Of Tubal Ligation
The information provide in this article should allow readers to decide if reversal of tubal ligation is the best choice for them.
Despite being told tubal ligation is permanent, it will not work, and that IVF is better, you have just been provided with accurate and detailed statistics proving the success of tubal ligation reversal.
If the experiences of other tubal reversal patients, comprehensive pregnancy statistics, and the advice of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine is not enough to convince you tubal ligation does not have to be permanent and that reverse tubal ligation surgery really works….then I don’t know what ever will.
Submitted by Dr. Charles Monteith
References
1. 2008 Assisted Reproductive Technology Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008 National Report.
2. Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Report 2009. A Personal Choice website 2009.
3. Committee opinion: role of tubal surgery in the era of assisted reproductive technology. Fertil Steril 2012;97:539–45.
