I'm a 40-year-old woman whose tubes have been cut, tied and burned. If I get a reversal, can I get pregnant?
I had a tubal ligation 17yrs ago. Can I still get a tubal reversal and if so, what are my chances of becoming pregnant?
Answers from doctors (2)
IVF would be your best option.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
While a tubal reversal may restore fertility, many factors suggest that this surgical option may not be your best chance to achieve a pregnancy.
- IVF is generally half the cost of surgery
- You cannot be certain that you can repair the damaged fallopian tube until you do surgery and incur the cost, risk and recovery period. Scar tissue from previous sterilization procedure may interfere with getting a good result.
- There is a 25% risk of tubal pregnancy after surgical repair of the fallopian tube.
- Once you are successful, if you underwent surgery, you have to consider future fertility and the need for contraception once again.
- At age 40, many women have diminished ovarian reserve may be a factor that diminishes the odds of success. Testing can be done before treatment.
- It is imperative to evaluate the male partner prior to considering surgery. I've seen many women who spent over $20,000 to get their tubes repaired only to learn that their husband has a severe male factor fertility problem as well.
-With IVF, you can test the embryo genetics and mitochondrial factors to pick the single embryo that gives you the best results and a very low <1% chance of twins. Pregnancy rate if normal embryos are identified can be as high as 75%, about the same as getting surgery and trying for a year.
All in all, these factors make IVF a much better option for people who previously underwent tubal sterilization.
Published on Jul 11, 2012
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