We wanted to introduce the woman with the longest fallopian tubes ever recorded in the history of tubal reversal!
How long were Cynthia’s tubes after reversal?
How about 14 cm!
Cynthia’s tubes were so long we asked her permission to do a story on her and we just had to take a picture with her.
Cynthia had tubal reversal surgery at A Personal Choice because we are the best reversal center in the world ☺ and because of symptoms she experienced after tubal ligation. She also wanted the option of becoming pregnant in the future.
Symptoms after tubal ligation
Cynthia had a Filshie clip tubal ligation two years ago. After her tubal ligation, she began experiencing heavy periods, severe cramping with ovulation, and severe anxiety around the time of her periods. She described episodes so bad she would lay in bed crying.
Cynthia had been on a low-dose birth control pill before her tubal ligation. Her doctors restarted her hormonal birth control to treat the symptoms she was experiencing. Cynthia states this helped some but not entirely. She thought reversal would give her the best chance to return to normal and restore her fertility.
Cynthia’s reversal surgery was textbook. Since she had tubal clips, her BMI was low, and she had no scar tissue from prior surgeries, we were able to complete her surgery in 32 minutes and only lost 4 ml of blood (less than 1 teaspoon)!
During her surgery, we were absolutely amazed at how long Cynthia’s tubes were the tubal segments were rejoined. Cynthia’s tubes measured 14 cm after they were rejoined! Most patients average 5 cm.
As we were repairing Cynthia’s tubes, I thought to myself, “These are the longest fallopian tubes I have ever seen!”
Just as I was thinking her tube were long, Donna, our surgical first assistant, exclaimed, “Gawd Dr. Monteith these are these longest fallopian tubes I have ever seen!”
Now I have been doing reversals since 2008, but Donna previously worked with Dr. Berger and has been assisting in tubal reversal surgery since 1990….so cumulatively between the two of us we had 34 years of tubal reversal experience.
Neither of us had seen fallopian tubes as long as Cynthia’s tubes. Now that is saying something!
Chances of pregnancy after tubal reversal
Patients often want to know what their chances of pregnancy are after reversal. Although none of us can predict the future, these are important predictors of pregnancy after tubal reversal.
- Successful repair
- Age of patient
- Length of tubes
Successful repair. If at least one tube is repaired pregnancy can happen. If both tubes are repaired most patients become pregnant within 12 months. If only one tube is repaired pregnancy can happen but may take longer.
We realized some patients may be depressed if they have shorter tubes (less than 3cm) so read these two links for more hope.
More hope: Providing hope for those with one tube
Age of patient. We all know this. Age is a strong predictor of the ability to become pregnant. As we age it is harder to become pregnant this becomes somewhat noticeable after age 40 and very noticeable after age 43.
More hope: Providing hope for ‘older’ ladies trying to be moms again
Length of tubes. The longer the tubes the higher the pregnancy chances. The shorter the tubes the lower the pregnancy chances. Why?
More hope: Providing hope for women with short tubes
Longest fallopian tubes: Why is length important?
We really don’t know. I personally think fallopian tube length after reversal is suggestive of how damaging the tubal ligation was.
- Tubal clips and rings then tubes are likely to be longer (less damage)
- Extensive ‘cutting and tying’ or extensive ‘burning’ then tubes could be shorter
For tubal ‘cutting and tying’ or ‘burning’ the methods are not as important as how much of the method each doctor does. Every doctor is different in how they perform these methods. It is very important with these types of tubal ligations that we get the operative notes or patients consider our screening laparoscopy with surgical fee refund.
We have reversed some burned tubes that were longer than many clip and ring reversals.
More information:
Chances of pregnancy based on fallopian tube lengths: 2011 Tubal Reversal Study
Submitted By: Dr. Charles W. Monteith
Email: DrMonteith@tubal-reversal.net