Tubal Ligation Reversal

Among the ways to permanently put an end your childbearing years, a tubal ligation procedure is the most popular choice women elect as a means of permanent birth control. A tubal ligation procedure ties off your fallopian tubes, the tubes through which eggs travel from the ovaries to the uterus to enable fertilization, to prevent the future passage of eggs into the uterus.

However, many women who undergo a tubal ligation find in the future that they want to expand their families by conceiving a child. Luckily, a procedure to reverse a tubal ligation is possible.

A tubal ligation reversal surgery is a procedure in which your healthcare provider opens, unties or reconnects your fallopian tubes, enabling you to conceive again.

Are you interested in having a baby but previously underwent a tubal ligation procedure? Request a consultation with a surgeon in that can assist you with a tubal reversal surgery! Call (408) 946-9453 or contact us online.

Is a Tubal Ligation Reversal Right for Me?

Before definitively deciding on tubal ligation reversal, your healthcare provider will factor in a number of considerations including:

• Age
• Length of the remaining tubal segments
• Skill of the surgeon

Your healthcare provider will give you a physical exam which may include blood and imaging tests to ensure your ovaries are healthy, and a diagnostic laparoscopy to check the length and function of your remaining fallopian tubes.

You may be a good candidate for this procedure if your tubes were closed with rings or clips, or if you only had a small part of your fallopian tubes removed. However, regardless of how the tubal sterilization was completed, most women are able to successfully complete a tubal ligation reversal if they have adequate fallopian tube length. If your ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes are deemed healthy, your healthcare provider may ultimately decide that you're a good candidate for the tubal ligation reversal procedure.

Tubal Ligation Reversal Procedure: What Should I Expect?

Your tubal ligation reversal procedure can be performed in a hospital or an outpatient center and typically takes up to two hours. You'll be placed under regional (spinal) or general anesthesia during the surgery. The procedure will start with your healthcare provider inserting a small lighted scope called a laparoscope through your belly button and into your pelvis. This scope visualizes your fallopian tubes for your healthcare provider, helping him or her decide how to proceed.

Your healthcare provider will make a small incision called a bikini cut near your public hair line. Assisted by microscopic instruments, your healthcare provider will remove any clips or rings that were used to block your tubes, and then reconnect the ends of the tubes to the uterus with small stiches.

If, at the time of the laparoscopy, it is found that minimal proximal tubule (tube near the uterus) was left behind from your ligation procedure, a re-implantation can be completed. In this procedure, a new opening is created through the uterine muscle, and the remaining tubal segment is inserted into the uterine cavity.

Following your surgery, recovery time will depend on the surgical method your doctor employed. If your procedure was completed with "microsurgical" techniques in an outpatient center, you will be able to return home the day after your operation. You may, however, need to spend anywhere from one night in the hospital to three days if a different approach was used. Keep in mind that tubal reversal is a major abdominal procedure, making it about two weeks before you'll be able to return to normal activities. Your healthcare provider will likely prescribe pain medication to help you manage any discomfort experienced as a result of the procedure.

If you're healthy and a previous tubal ligation surgery patient, you may still be able to have children. Schedule a consultation with a qualified surgeon in who can perform a tubal ligation reversal surgery! Call (408) 946-9453 or contact us online.

Author

Gul A. Zikria, MD, FACOG As an expert in preventive care, innovative treatment solutions, and laparoscopic surgery, board-certified OB/GYN Gul A. Zikria, MD, FACOG, is a trusted practitioner who’s been in private practice since 1985. Dr. Zikria earned his doctor of medicine from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark. He went on to complete a competitive surgical residency program at Georgetown University in Washington. Dr. Zikria then went through a comprehensive obstetrics and gynecology residency program through the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center at the Magee-Women’s Hospital. He welcomes new and existing patients to his practice in Milpitas, California.