Tubal Reversal vs IVF: Pregnancies, Births, Outcomes

Notice of Study Update

Gary S. Berger, M.D.
Medical Director

The following is Dr. Berger's report from 2005. The corresponding page of an updated report can be seen in the Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Study 2009 – Overview.

Summary

Tubal reversal enables women to conceive naturally and has a higher pregnancy rate and a higher birth rate than IVF. For most women desiring another child after a tubal ligation, tubal reversal is the best treatment.

Introduction

The desire to have a baby after a tubal ligation is common for women in second marriages, following the loss of a child, and for a variety of other reasons.

Most people are not aware that tubal ligation - usually considered a permanent method of birth control - can be reversed through one hour outpatient surgery. The procedure (known as tubotubal anastomosis, tubal ligation reversal, or tubal reversal) rejoins the separated segments of fallopian tube so that eggs can become fertilized and travel down the tubes into the uterus.

Information on the Internet is available about in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment results from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), but tubal reversal statistics are harder to find and are often based on small numbers of patients. Therefore, many people inside and outside the medical community are not familiar with tubal reversal surgery as an alternative to IVF. This article reports the outcomes of a large population of women who have had tubal ligation reversals performed by Dr. Gary Berger at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center and it compares the results with national IVF statistics. This is the largest and ongoing follow-up study of tubal reversal patients that exists.