Tubal reversal and twins!
Dr. Monteith
I have twins!
Patient age: 35
Tubal ligation type: Coagulation (burned)
Patient hometown: Elgin, Illinois
Is there a chance of twins after tubal reversal?
Patients considering tubal reversal will commonly ask is there a chance of twins after tubal reversal surgery?
There is a chance of twins after tubal reversal but the chance of twins has little to do with tubal reversal surgery.
In general, the chance of having natural twins is about 1 out of every 90 pregnancies. Tubal reversal allows you the opportunity to become naturally pregnant. This means you do not require daily treatment by an infertility doctor and you will not need treatment with hormonal fertility medications.
Your chance of having twins is increased if:
- you are over the age of 30
- you are of West African descent
- you are being treated with infertility medications
Having tubal reversal surgery does not increase your chance of having twins unless you are being treated with infertility medications. Most women who have tubal reversal will not need infertility treatments. If you are having trouble becoming pregnant after reversal surgery then your doctor may consider infertility treatment.
In general, the most common reason women have difficulty becoming pregnant (after tubal reversal or with increasing age) is because of irregular ovulation. If you are not ovulating regularly then you don’t have regular periods because you are not releasing eggs. If you don’t release an egg during the month then you will not have a period that month.
Irregular ovulation is easily treated with an oral medication called ‘Clomid’. Clomid will cause the ovary to release an egg and allow you a better chance to become pregnant. Clomid is technically considered an infertility medication but it only modestly increases the chance of twins after tubal reversal surgery. If you take Clomid the chance of having twins is estimated to be approximately 5%.
More information: Twins and tubal reversal surgery
If you require treatment with stronger, injectable infertility medications then your chance of twins will be much higher. Treatment with injectable hormonal medications will cause the chance of twins to increase to about 30%.
Twins and tubal reversal: Don’t be too worried
Is there a chance of twins after tubal reversal? Yes there is a chance but the chance is no higher than if you had never had a tubal ligation. Tubal reversal allows a chance at natural pregnancy and the chance of twins conceived naturally is 1%.
If you require treatment with Clomid the chance of twins is 5% and if you require stronger injectable IVF hormonal medications then your chance of twins could be as high as 30% to 40%.
