Which would increase my chances of conceiving, a tubal reversal or IVF?
I am a 30 yr old mother of 1. I had my tubal ligation in 2011 for a not so good reason. It was a mistake and now that I am married, we want to have a child. Which would increase my chances of conceiving, a tubal reversal or IVF?
Answers from doctors (2)
A lot goes into answering your question, which cannot be answered in two sentences. However, a few important issues that may come up is the technique (ligation versus electrocautery) used to perform the tubal ligation, the location on the tube, and the success rates of the IVF lab that you use. All can affect pregnancy rates. I would encourage you to make an appointment with a reproductive specialist like myself for a complete answer.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
A tubal reversal or IVF may be good options. The chance of success depends on how much normal tube was left after the "ligation." I put "ligation" in quotes because not all ligations are ligations. In some cases, surgeons do cauterize or burn the tubes. It has been my experience that patients that had their tubes cauterized may have more damage than they think. You should obtain your tubal ligation surgical reports and pathology reports if a pathology specimen of the tubal segment was sent to the lab. By reviewing the surgical notes and the pathology report, your surgeon can estimate if there is enough tube for a successful microsurgical tubal reversal, or if you should do IVF. There are some patients that are excellent candidates for a tubal reversal but still choose to do IVF. IVF may give you a higher success rate in the short term, but if you do not become pregnant you will have to do it all over again. A possible advantage of a tubal reversal is that once it is done you don't have to keep paying to try to conceive again. As you may guess, not all patients that have a tubal reversal get pregnant either, and sometimes they have to go on to IVF. Be sure to seek an experienced surgeon. Look at their websites and reviews.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
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