Fertility & Women's

Health Center

of Louisiana

4630 Ambassador Caffery

Suite 206

Lafayette, LA 70508

337/989-8795  voice

888/467-BABY  toll-free

337/989-8766  fax

Lafayette

Lake Charles

Alexandria

Tubal Ligation Reversal

• What is tubal ligation reversal?

• Risks of tubal ligation reversal

• Success rates of tubal ligation reversal

• Cost of tubal ligation reversal

• What to bring to your first visit

• Alternatives to tubal ligation reversal

What is Tubal Ligation Reversal

Tubal ligation is the commonly used term that encompasses many different tubal sterilization procedures.  Tubal ligation reversal refers to repairing "tied" or blocked fallopian tubes to restore fertility after a tubal ligation.  A tubal reversal is an excellent choice of treatment for many women wanting to become pregnant after having their tubes tied,  and it allows for the chance every month to conceive naturally once the fallopian tubes have been repaired.

Patients are typically discharged from the facility within several hours after the surgery and can expect to resume normal activities within 5 to 10 days.  Some patients will stay in the hospital overnight. This is better for patients than the standard approach to tubal ligation reversal that results in hospitalization for several days, a recovery period of four to six weeks, and unnecessary hospital costs.

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Risks of Tubal Ligation Reversal

Although any operation carries some risk, with these careful and precise microsurgical and anesthesia procedures the post-operative complication rate after outpatient tubal ligation reversal microsurgery is less than 0.1 percent.   Patients are at increased risk for ectopic pregnancy after this procedure and should notify their physician immediately upon missing a period.  (This will allow them to perform a blood pregnancy test and early ultrasound to ensure the pregnancy is indeed in the uterus and not in the fallopian tube.) 

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Success Rates of Tubal Ligation Reversal

The success rate for reopening the tubes is over 90 percent, and approximately 70 percent of patients have become pregnant by one year or more after the procedure.  The pregnancy rate varied by type of original tubal ligation performed, tubal lengths after repair, and a woman's age.

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Cost of Tubal Ligation Reversal

The typical cost for a tubal ligation reversal procedure is approximately $7,500.  This includes the surgeon and assistant surgeon’s fees, hospital fees, anesthesia fees and the fees for the preoperative and postoperative visits.  It also includes the physician’s fee for the HSG (dye test) 3 months later to ensure the tubes are open. These costs can change depending on each patient's individual needs. Therefore, please discuss the cost of this procedure with our Financial Coordinator prior to surgery.  

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What to Bring to Your First Visit

It is extremely helpful to have your operative report and pathology report from your tubal ligation procedure.  This can be obtained from the hospital medical records where you had your surgery.  If your husband hasn’t had a semen analysis, he will be required to have this done prior to the surgery to ensure this is the best procedure for you.

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Alternatives to Tubal Ligation Reversal

Patients have the alternative of in vitro fertilization (also offered by Fertility and Women's Health Center of LA).  The decision as to which one is best should be discussed with your doctor. Advantages and disadvantages to both tubal ligation reversal and in vitro fertilization are detailed in Table 1 below:

Table 1

Tubal Ligation Reversal  (TLR) vs In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

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Date Page Last Edited: 10/06/2008