Tubal Reversal Study Report 2005

Tubal Reversal Study Method

Notice of Study Update

The following is Dr. Berger's report from 2005. The corresponding sections in an updated report can be seen in 3 expanded pages in the Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Study 2009 - Study Method, Patient Population by State and Patients Ages and Ligation Methods

Tubal reversal study population and methodology

The study population consisted of 2692 women who underwent tubal reversal surgery between January 2001 and December 2004 at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. The information was collected throughout the study period by staff nurses and recorded in an electronic patient database. This method of following a group of individuals over time looking for specified outcomes is called a prospective cohort study. The statistics in this analysis are based on pregnancies that were reported to the Center through July 2005.

The women's ages

The women in the study ranged in age from 23 to 50 (Figure 1). The average age was 34 years.

Figure 1. Age Distribution of Study Population
The tubal reversal study population consists of 2692 women ranging in age from 24 to 52 with an average age of 34.

The tubal reversal study population consists of 2692 women ranging in age from 24 to 52 with an average age of 34.

Years of Age

Approximately three-fourths of the women were in their 30's as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Study Population by Years of Age
Age	Number	Percent
<30	405	15%
30-34	984	37%
35-39	977	36%
40+	326	12%
Total	2692	100%

Tubal ligation categories

An important factor in tubal reversal surgery is the type of tubal ligation that was originally performed. There are three main types of tubal sterilization procedures. One method involves tying and cutting out a segment of the tube (ligation/resection). A second method is applying tubal clips or rings to block the tubes, and the third is tubal coagulation (burning the tubes). Ligation/resection was the most common tubal ligation method among the women in the study, followed in order by coagulation and ring/clip procedures. In cases where the patient's operative report of the tubal ligation was not available, the method was classified as unknown (Table 2).

Table 2. Tubal Ligation Method
Method	Number	Percent
Ligation/resection	983	37%
Ring/clip	659	24%
Coagulation	849	31%
Unknown	201	8%
Total	2692	100%

Tubal reversal techniques

The tubal reversal operations were performed using surgical and anesthetic techniques developed by Dr. Berger over the past 3 decades. These techniques minimize pain, bleeding, operation time, and post operative recovery time. The surgical techniques, as well as the entire outpatient procedure, are explained step-by-step in a video of outpatient tubal reversal that has been shown in the series called "The Operation" on Discovery and The Learning Channel.