This is the fourth year of our free tubal reversal surgery contest.
We are proud to say we are the only reversal center offering patients a chance to win a free reversal surgery. We had a total of 1,500 applications to our contest and we selected two winners this year.
There were many deserving applicants for a free tubal reversal procedure.
Most of our contest applicants expressed regret as their reason for wanting tubal reversal surgery. They said they just made a mistake when they got their tubes tied. They grew to regret their decision.
Some were in difficult social situations and their life’s circumstances led them to get their tubes tied. Others were pressured and some were forced by their partners or close family members into having a tubal ligation .
The second 2023 Free Tubal Reversal Procedure Contest winner of 2023 is very deserving.
She is a self-less care giver and we felt she truly deserved to be one of the winners of our contest.
There were two winners of the 2023 Free Tubal Reversal Contest. To read more about the first winner visit:
Pelvic pain after tubal clips, free reversal surgery helps
In giving we receive! Michelle’s tubal reversal surgery contest statement
My name is Michelle. I’m 35 years of age and I have 3 wonderful children (17, 16, 14) and a niece that’s 4 that we care for.
I’ve been married for 11 years in April and he is my best friend. My husband adopted all three of my children, and raised them as his own. He changed our lives by giving me and my children the exceptional love and support we needed. My husband (Kacy) is an Artist, we have done a lot of murals around the United States.
More information: The Art of Kacy
I want him to have the opportunity of that unconditional love your children share with you. My oldest daughter is an artist as well she paints abstract and realism. My second oldest handles all business part emails, orders, etc. Our last child, the youngest and only boy, is an actor doing small projects for now but I see him going places. We have been taking care of my wonderful niece since she was 5 months. She is the joy and the foundation to our family. I wish she was our daughter.
Our family loves to travel, play hide and seek, more important we love to learn together. Now about me, for the record there is no me without my family. After having my son I tied my tubes thinking nobody would ever love me nor did I ever dream of wearing a wedding dress. I was put into a dark box until my husband came into my life.
I have always been a giver in 2012 I gave my kidney to someone I didn’t know. I was able to save four lives because I started a chain reaction. That changed my life, I started learning Spanish, Bachata Dancing, Cooking, Violin, etc.
A giving woman gives the most important gift: Life!
My husband is wanting a child. I looked around and was ready for the surgery in 2017 but every time tax time came something happened to the point I had to use the money for something else (car,daughters medicine, home to rent). I keep finding myself putting my hopes and dreams last to make sure everyone else has what they want and need. I would just like for my want which is this surgery to be filled. I told my husband I’d rather have my surgery than a new car. Having a child is so amazing and so many people take that for granted.
I would give anything to let my husband watch our child be born into this world. This is more to me than having a child this is so my husband and I can carry on our legacy so his fathers name can be carried on. More importantly so my husband can feel that love, so he can see his child’s eyes, watch his child be born.
I’ve never been given anything usually I’m the giver. I’m currently selling both of my cars to pay for this surgery if I don’t win! My fingers are crossed. This is something I want and I’ve waited for long enough. If your office picks me you would change my life, you would literally change my life forever.
Thank you so much for even giving an opportunity like this. Thank you Dr. Charles Monteith for doing this giving away your time, resources, staff.
How will winning a free tubal reversal procedure make a difference in your life?
Winning the Free Tubal Reversal Procedure Contest is important to me because I now understand what it takes to be a great mother. I was young when I had my first child and then went on to have two more children before I was 22.
Even though I’ve been a good mom, I was growing and still teaching myself how to be a woman and learning how to love myself. After having my third child my mom pushed me to tie my tubes and I thought I would never find anyone to love me or my children.
My husband of 12 years was brought into my life when I was 24 he raised all my children and made them his own. Three years ago my niece, being six months at the time, was brought to us to care for. Watching my husband love and care for these kids showed me what we were missing and what I would hope to one day share with him. I’ve gone through so many trials and hardships, I’ve donated my kidney to a person I didn’t know and started a chain reaction that saved four peoples lives, my children are almost grown and my niece is so happy and smart. Being able to bring children into this world is an amazing experience and I want my husband to have that.
This will make a difference in my life because me and my husband will be able to have children. I can say that I’m a great mother and I can’t wait to bring a child into this world with someone that I love and that is my partner because at the end of the day it takes partnership to raise a child. Men bring a lot to the table and my husband has shown me why fathers need to be present. He plays a very important role and I couldn’t have done this without him.
Hearing that I got this opportunity made me drop to my knees!
So thank you Dr. Monteith and staff! This is going to change my life forever and only shows me that me and my husband are doing the right things.
Your office has changed my life and will allow me the chance to see our family grow!
Day#1: Tubal reversal surgery consultation
I met Michelle and her partner, Kacy, on the first day of their visit to Raleigh for their free tubal reversal surgery.
Michelle is 36 years of age and she has three children ages 17,16, and 14 from a previous relationship. She has been with Kacy for twelve years. Kacy does not have children. They have been together for twelve years. They met at a Walmart in Kentucky. Michelle worked as a Subway store inside the Walmart and Kacy worked at Walmart. They started a relationship and have been together and in love for the last 12 years.
Kacy has taken Michelle’s children as his own. Together they adopted a 4 year old child. Michelle is a stay-at-home mom and Kacy now works as a full time artist with his own studio. They both consider themselves spiritual people. They were both surprised and appreciate they won the free reversal contest. They have no doubt they will become pregnant successfully.
In 2012, Michelle had a dream that she should do something significant in her life. She actually dreamed she should donate one of her kidneys to someone in need. She went and got tested and was an exact match for someone in need…someone she did not even know. She soon gave one of her two kidneys to a complete stranger. That gift ultimately benefited three other people because the intended donor for the patient in need was not a match but ended up giving her kidney to a second patient in need. The second patient’s intended donor was also not a match and ended up giving their kidney to a third person.
Michelle is a giving patient who’s gift started a chain reaction that benefited several other patients.
In 2014, Michelle had unexpected pain and abnormal periods. She would skip periods for 6 months and she would then bleed for 2 to 3 months. Her doctors performed a laparoscopy to remove the tubal clips. After that surgery her symptoms slowly improved. Now she has regular periods and is excited about the possibility of becoming a mom again.
I spoke with Michelle and Kaycee. We discussed the typical risks of surgery: bleeding, infection, inability to repair her tubes, tubal blockage after reversal and ectopic pregnancy.
Michelle has some very unique considerations because of having one kidney. It is very possible if she gets an ectopic (tubal) pregnancy that she may not be able to get methotrexate. We commonly recommend methotrexate as a safe medical treatment to our patients who have ectopic pregnancies. Methotrexate will safely stop a tubal pregnancy from growing and let the body dissolve it. Methotrexate can be damaging to the kidneys and since she has one kidney she may not be the best candidate in the event she has an ectopic pregnancy.
Also having one kidney increase the risk of having serious high blood pressure during pregnancy, pre-eclampsia (toxemia), and kidney damage that could cause her to end up on dialysis.
Michelle has repeatedly stated she is a person of faith and she has faith that this entire process is going to work out for the best!
Day#2: Day of tubal reversal surgery
Michelle and Kacy checked into our facility at 1030 am. Michelle was the third patient to have surgery that day.
As I usually do, I met with Michelle and Kacy a second time immediately before her surgery. After I met with the couple the anesthesia staff person and the operating room nurse introduced themselves and told her they would take good care of her.
Michelle and Kacy then put a pin in our tubal reversal map. This is a customary ‘right of passage’ for our reversal patients! Many eagerly look forward to pinning their how town on the map!
Michelle came into the operating room and we performed our customary safety time out. We verified her name, date of birth, signed consents, medical/surgery history, and allergies.
Michelle seemed comfortable coming into the operating room. She was not nervous. She was calm and at peace. You can easily tell she is a woman of faith. Her surgery went very well.
Her entire surgery lasted only 31 minutes! Most tubal reversal surgeries take 1 to 1.5 hours. When a patient is thin (BMI less than 25), does not have any prior surgery, and has healthy tubes the reversal surgeries can be quick.
We were able to repair both of Michelle’s tubes. Both of her fallopian tubes were 10 cm in length. Ten centimeters is an excellent length!
Most fallopian tubes are 8 to 10 cm long. Most of our patients have tubes which are, on average, 5 cm in length after reversal. We consider 10 cm to be a great length. Her tubes are essentially normal in length. Michelle’s chance of pregnancy could be as high as 80% to 90%.
More information: Chance of pregnancy based on tubal ligation method
Thankfully, we did not have to search for migrated tubal clips because the clips were removed during a prior surgery.
The estimated blood loss was 4 milliliters… which is about a teaspoon!
After the surgery, Michelle was taken to the recovery room and I went out to the waiting room to give Kacy the good news.
Recovery room
Kacey did well in the recovery room. She was a little on the sleepy side. She was emotional but did not have much pain.
I brought Kacy back to see her. I talked with both of them together and informed them of the results of her surgery.
The nurses reviewed her post operative instructions and we discharged Michelle back to the hotel.
Day#3 Tubal reversal surgery post operative visit
The nurse checked Michelle in and took her vital signs. The nurse removed Michelle’s bandage, cleaned her incision, and reviewed the post-operative care instructions with the couple.
I met with Michelle and Kacy after her visit with the nurse. She was doing great.
Her pain was well controlled, she was eating and drinking without difficulty, and she was walking with minimal pain. Kacy had been a great nurse while they were back at the hotel.
I reviewed Michelle’s tubal reversal procedure operative note and also reviewed our letter of recommendation we send her doctor. I informed Michelle of her excellent tubal lengths and reassured her she has a great chance to become pregnant.
Tubal clips most likely not the cause of problems
I also explained to Michelle I did not think her tubal clips were the cause of her pain or irregular periods.
The reason is because her symptoms started several years after the clips were placed. Her main symptoms were skipping periods. After the clips were removed her periods return to normal..but only several years after the surgery to remove the clips.
I asked Michelle if she had lost a lot of weight over the years. To me it was very obvious she has lost a lot of weight. When she was informed she won the contest for a free tubal reversal procedure she sent us prior pictures of herself and her family. When I met Michelle I did not even recognize her because she was so much thinner.
You can easily see from the photos in this article that Michelle has lost a lot of weight over the years.
Weight gain can increase estrogen levels. This can throw off your cycle in a major way and cause an imbalance in hormones. This can prevent you from ovulating.
Alternatively…weight loss can decrease estrogen levels, rebalance your hormonal balance, and your periods can resume their regular pattern.
It is because of the timing of her symptoms and the resolution of her symptoms…not because of clip removal but more likely because of weight loss that I dont think the clips were the cause of her irregular periods.
Learn more about previous contest winners
If you would like to see more information about prior winners visit:
- 2020 winners: Free Tubal Reversal Winners 2020
- 2021 winners: Free Tubal Reversal Winners 2021
- 2022 winner: Free Tubal Reversal Winner 2022
Tubal reversal contest: The future?
We will not be holding the free reversal contest next year.
If you are considering having another baby then we encourage you not to delay your decision for too long. There is never a good time in life to have a baby because there is always some stressor going on at any given time.
Each year you wait you lose 12 chances…and each year you get older those monthly chances decrease. After age 43 those yearly chance start to decrease dramatically. These observations are accurate whether you do IVF or tubal reversal surgery.
So if you really want to have a baby then do it! There is never a good time.
Do not count on our contest or any miracle of God…it is always good to graciously accept miracles but don’t count miracles!
Expensive: Consider CareCredit or HSA/FSA cards
We understand reversal surgery is expensive. If you think reversal is expensive then you should look into in-vitro fertilization, or IVF. IVF is way more expensive than tubal reversal surgery.
You may want to consider financing or a tax beneficial HSA/FSA card.
In 2022 we started accepting CareCredit as payment for surgery. CareCredit is America’s leading health financing card. For more information visit: Untying tubes with Care Credit
HSA (Health Savings Account) or FSA (Flexible Spending Account) is a good way to pay for surgery and possibly get tax benefits. If you, or your partner, has an annual health care deductible then you can pay for surgery with an HSA or FSA card, that amount could cover your annual deductible, the rest of your health care expenses should be covered by health insurance, and you may get a tax benefit.
More information: Benefits of using a Health Saving Account
Considering tubal reversal? Protect yourself
We are in inflationary times. To some extent this is natural in the world of economics. Everything will go up…nothing costs the same as it did 100 years ago!
You may not be able to win a free ligation reversal surgery but you have a better chance of getting a discounted rate on a reversal surgery as a reversal prepayment account member.
If you are seriously considering having tubal reversal with A Personal Choice and you are just not ready then consider starting a Reversal Prepayment Account.
This will lock your price in for the next three (3) years and you can protect yourself from any possible cost increases for reversal surgery.
More information: Tubal Reversal Prepayment Account
Do not start a tubal reversal prepayment account if you are not serious about having tubal reversal because you could lose your initial deposit of $500.
Steps to starting a prepayment account
These are the steps to starting a Reversal Prepayment Account (RPA) :
Step 1. Send us your records for a free review and a price quote
Use our HIPAA compliant medical upload panel: A Personal Choice Medical Record Upload Portal
By sending records we can let you know if you are a candidate. This helps prevent you from wasting your time by saving for three years only to find out you are not a candidate for reversal.
If you can’t get records call and speak to one of our staff. We can usually provide more insight if you should start an account. We can also provide more information about our Screening Laparoscopy.
If you send us your records and dont do anything else…you would be subject to any price increases that happened in the future. So you will need to officially open an RPA account to lock in your price.
Step 2. Complete our Reversal Prescheduling Questionnaire
This questionnaire is the official start of your medical record with our office. It allows us to do a deeper dive into your medical history and provides you and us with one more step of assurance you are a good candidate. You will need to pay a small scheduling fee in order to submit the questionnaire.
We can’t tell everything from just your tubal ligation notes… so the questionnaire asks for more detailed information about your health history.
If we detect a more serious medical problem we may ask you to get a clearance from one of your doctors to make sure you have a safe surgical experience with our office.
Step 3. Complete phone interview with nurse and complete blood count test
This allows the nurse to discuss concerns with your prescheduling questionnaire. This also allows potential patients to ask additional question they may have about reversal or our process. The nurse will send a lab order for a complete blood count (CBC). This is currently the only lab test that is required by our office.
The nurse will email you a serious of contracts with your locked in reversal price.
This is an important process. Sometimes we detect severe anemia or other medical conditions. This allows us to recommend corrective action for patients and they can better prepare for reversal surgery and the best chance of getting pregnant after tubal reversal.
Once we know people are good candidates it puts us in a better position to offer them discounted rates on short notice…we know there should not be any medical surprises if they schedule in a short time.
Step 4. Return signed Reversal Prepayment Account contract
You must return the paper work and send your signed contract in with a minimum of $500 deposit. This $500 goes towards your reversal surgery cost. You can then put money in your account at any time and of any amount. You have a total of three years to finish funding your account.
Step 5. Save towards your surgery/possibly get a discount
Why three years? We feel three years is enough time to save for the serious individual.
In the past we never had a time limit.
Some people would send in large amounts of money and then never get back with us. We had some peoples money for 10+ years. We are responsible for this money because technically it is not our money. We really dont want that responsibility. That is what banks are for….we are just trying to help some people have reversal surgery.
If you don’t have your surgery by three years then we close your account and refund you all your money.less the $500 account administration fee.
Reversal prepayment account members are emailed when discounted rates are available. Discounts range from $500 to $1,000. Discounts are only offered to prepayment account members.
If you are serious about reversal surgery but are not ready yet…then consider a reversal prepayment account.
If you are not certain then we encourage you to go to your bank and open a savings account. This will allow you to save towards your goal without having to lose $500 if you dont have surgery within three years.
