TUBAL REVERSAL PREGNANCY STUDY:
A DECADE OF OBSERVATION
Our Tubal Reversal Success Rates
Our tubal reversal study was conducted over the course of a decade from July 2000 through December 2011. There were 9,935 women having tubal ligation reversal at our practice. We studied the chances of pregnancy after tubal ligation reversal based upon the patient’s age, type of tubal ligation, and the length of their fallopian tubes after repair. The following tables show the total number of patients studied and both the pregnancy numbers and percentages for women of different ages and types of tubal ligation.
Pregnancies By Age
We observed younger women were more likely than older women to become pregnant after tubal reversal.
The pregnancy rates after tubal reversal surgery were 81% for women under 30; 75% for women 30-34; 65% for those 35-39; and 34% for women 40 years of age and older at the time of their tubal reversal procedures (Table 3).
Table 3. Pregnancies by Age
| Age | Total Cases | Pregnant (Number) | Pregnant (Percent) |
| <30 | 1388 | 1128 | 81% |
| 30-34 | 3758 | 2823 | 75% |
| 35-39 | 3483 | 2262 | 65% |
| 40+ | 1306 | 443 | 34% |
Pregnancies By Tubal Ligation Method
Reversal of tubal clip procedures had the highest pregnancy percentage (78%), followed by tubal rings (76%), ligation/resection and coagulation (66% each). Women who had other or unknown methods of tubal ligation were least likely to get pregnant after their reversal procedures (52%).
Regardless of the method of tubal sterilization, women were able to become pregnant after reversal of all methods of tubal ligation (Table 4).
Table 4. Pregnancies by Tubal Ligation Method
| Method | Total Cases | Pregnant (Number) | Pregnant (Percent) |
| Clips | 850 | 660 | 78% |
| Rings | 1416 | 1070 | 76% |
| Ligation/Resection | 3971 | 2616 | 66% |
| Coagulation | 2849 | 1872 | 66% |
| Essure | 68 | 24 | 35% |
| Other/unknown | 849 | 438 | 52% |
Pregnancies By Age And Method
Pregnancy percentages taking into account both age and tubal ligation methods are shown in Table 5. Women under 30 with tubal clips had the highest chance of pregnancy (90%) after sterilization reversal.
When comparing age and type of tubal ligation, a patient’s age was more predictive of pregnancy than tubal ligation method.
Table 5. Pregnancies by Age and Tubal Ligation Method
| Age | Clip | Ring | Coagulation | Ligation/Resection |
| <30 | 69/77 (90%) | 137/163 (84%) | 190/244 (78%) | 192/248 (77%) |
| 30-34 | 114/139 (82%) | 227/299 (76%) | 461/620 (74%) | 517/744 (70%) |
| 35-39 | 110/151 (73%) | 210/303 (69%) | 353/554 (64%) | 421/681 (62%) |
| 40+ | 13/42 (31%) | 40/88 (46%) | 49/187 (26%) | 77/250 (31%) |
The complete Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Study: A Decade of Observation can be viewed by using the following links:
Table of Contents
- Overview
- Study Methodology
- Where Patients Come From
- Patients Ages and Tubal Ligation Procedures
- Pregnancies by Age and Tubal Ligation Procedures
- Pregnancies by Tubal Lengths
- Births, Miscarriages, Ectopic Pregnancies
- Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Statistics – What You Should Know
