Tubal ligation is a surgery to close a woman’s fallopian tubes. It is sometimes called “tying the tubes.”
However, many women who elected to have their tubes tied as a means of birth control seek to have the procedure reversed.
While tubal sterilization is meant to be the most effective and permanent form of birth control, rest assured that most of the time it can be reversed.
This is done through an outpatient and low-cost procedure called microsurgical tubal anastomosis, or tubal reversal.
We perform tubal anastomosis when the likelihood of success is good and the woman chooses the procedure.
Whether or not the tubes can be reconnected depends upon many factors including where and how they were cut and the degree of scarring. Tubal surgery is very delicate and should only be performed by a reproductive surgeon with advanced training in microsurgery.
Who Qualifies for Tubal Reversal
To qualify for outpatient tubal reversal, a patient must be younger than 40 and have a relatively normal body mass index (BMI) under 27 kg/m2 with a normal semen analysis (sperm count) of her partner.
It is also important for potential tubal reversal patients to talk with their doctor about their likelihood of success with tubal reversal, and receive a thorough fertility evaluation.
Tubal Reversal: What to Expect
For patients who qualify, this outpatient procedure requires the use of microsurgical techniques to view and reconnect the very delicate fallopian tubes through a small (2 ½-3 inch) incision, thus making the procedure somewhat time-intensive and tedious but scarring is kept to a minimum.
Afterwards, patients can return home the same day with minor pain and restrictions.
Tubal Reversal vs. IVF
If you are weighing your options of tubal reversal versus in vitro fertilization (IVF), know that each offers specific advantages.
Per cycle success rates using IVF are higher than those after tubal reversal. However, some couples cannot afford more than one IVF cycle whereas the number of attempts after tubal reversal is unlimited.
After a tubal reversal, frequently no fertility drugs are needed to get pregnant, which lowers the multiple pregnancy rate to 2 percent. This same rate is in excess of 25 percent with in vitro fertilization.
Plus, once tubal reversal is performed, a couple is free to conceive more than one child without having to repeat the tubal reversal procedure. However, for other couples who may be intending to conceive only once, or may have sperm problems in the male or pelvic adhesions (scar tissue) in the female, IVF may be a better option.
Tubal Reversal Costs
Estimated cost for this procedure is $11,000-$12,000. Sometimes other procedures, such as IVF, intracytoplasmic sperm injection or adoption may be better options.
Please contact our financial coordinator at 336-716-1269 for additional information.