Tubal ligation is a surgical procedure that blocks the fallopian tubes to prevent pregnancy. Many people commonly refer to tubal sterilization as having their ‘tubes tied’. The more correct medical term is tubal occlusion (occluding or closing the tube), because not every fallopian tube is ligated or tied when it is closed. There are many different ways to perform a tubal ligation, but all the procedures cause some destruction of the fallopian tubes. There are many ways to perform a tubal ligation: tying and cutting, cauterizing (burning) and clipping or banding the fallopian tubes are the most common techniques.
Tubal Ligation: A Common Surgical Procedure
Tubal ligation is a very common surgical procedure in the United States. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention investigated surgical sterilization in 1995 and discovered 10.6 million women in the US had a tubal ligation procedure. Tubal ligation was twice as common as vasectomy. The study also found 1 out of 4 women desired a tubal ligation reversal at some point in their lives.
Tubal Ligation Reversal
A large number of women will regret their decision to have a tubal ligation and want to have another baby. According to the CDC study of 1995, more than 2.5 million women in the US will want to have their ‘tubes untied’. Many of these women are unaware that tubal ligation reversal exists, or they may be told that treatment by in vitro fertilization (IVF) is their only option. Most of these women will abandon hope of becoming pregnant again.
Untying Fallopian Tubes
Just as the expression of having the ‘fallopian tubes tied’ is commonly misused, the description of ‘untying your fallopian tubes’ has also become a frequently used, but inaccurate description of what actually occurs during tubal surgery to repair blocked tubes. More accurate terms for this type of surgery are tubal ligation reversal or tubal reversal. There are several ways to repair fallopian tubes after a sterilization procedure. Tubotubal anastamosis is the most common technique for performing tubal ligation reversal surgery. These illustrations show the method of tubotubal anastomosis (also called tubal anastomosis or tubal reanastomosis).
Tubal ligation involves closing the fallopian tubes by destroying a portion of the fallopian tube, which causes the tube to heal closed. Tubal ligation reversal involves opening and rejoining the closed ends of the fallopian tubes. This procedure is done under magnification using microsurgical techniques and is very successful in allowing women to become pregnant. When performed by the tubal reversal doctors at A Personal Choice, 70% of women will become pregnant after a tubal ligation reversal.
Tubal Reversal Cost
We provide affordable tubal reversals at A Personal Choice. We specialize in outpatient microsurgical tubal ligation reversal. We annually perform over 800 reversal surgeries every year and patients travel from across the United States and the world to have tubal ligation reversal at our center. We have developed special techniques to allow tubal reversal surgery to be affordable, safe, and highly effective. Our tubal reversal pregnancy rates, tubal reversal pregnancy testimonials, and patient satisfaction messages are testaments to our leadership in the field of tubal ligation reversal surgery.
