Tubal ligation or tubal sterilization is a contraceptive method that involves closing the fallopian tubes by cutting, cauterizing or using rings or other devices. In this way, sperm will not be able to reach the egg in the tube and, therefore, fertilization will not occur.
Since, in principle, it is an irreversible method and with a very high efficiency, the woman chooses it when she is sure that she will not want more pregnancies. But the circumstances of life can vary and with it the reasons that cause the woman to change her mind regarding this issue.
What to do then? Can I get pregnant if I have had a tubal ligation? The answer is yes, and we explain in detail how it can happen.
Through reversible surgery
Via Planned Parenhood Tubal ligation reversal is performed by surgery, although the success of the intervention will depend on the type of ligature what the doctor did at the time. In this sense, the lower the damage caused to the tube, the greater the likelihood of reconstruction.
In Babies and more Tubal ligation: my experience and everything you need to know about the process- If the technique used was the cut of one of the parts of the tube and subsequent ligation, reconstruction could be possible in up to 75% of cases, according to data offered by the Tambre Clinic, although it will depend on the type of cut made.
And it is essential that the distal part of the tubes (endings near the ovary) has remained viable and that these have a minimum length of four centimeters, so that they have not lost functionality.
Reversion can also be achieved if sterilization is carried out. using clips or tubular rings; In fact, this procedure is, according to experts, the easiest to reverse.
However, the same does not happen if the technique used at the time was Essure (withdrawn from the market in 2017), since in that case the reversal would not be possible.
If the technique used was cauterization, the tube is damaged almost entirely, recanalization is impossible.
How reversal surgery occurs
If you wish to undergo a tubal ligation reversal procedure, the doctor will explain in detail the pros and cons of the intervention. In this way, you can assess together the suitability of the surgery, since in addition to the ligation technique used, other factors that may condition the success of a future pregnancy must be taken into account.
According to data from the University of Navarra, between 10 and 15% of women who have undergone tubal ligation change their minds at some point, and decide to reverse the procedure.If the reversal surgery is finally performed, it will be done by laparoscopy, looking for restore the functionality of the tube removing the fragments that block it or repairing it with absorbable sutures.
Data to consider with reversal surgery
A study published by the scientific journal, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), studied a group of 42 women who had undergone a ligation reversal technique in different hospitals in the United States.
All women were 40 years of age or older, and of the 42, 18 achieved a pregnancy after surgery. The data obtained later were the following:
- Of the 18 pregnancies, six came to term with live newborns.
- 10 patients suffered a miscarriage in the first trimester.
- One of the 18 pregnancies was ectopic, because the risk of this complication increases up to 8%, with the serious consequences that this has.
- One of the pregnancies had an elective termination.
Through in vitro fertilization
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is the most commonly used technique to get pregnant again after a tubal ligation, since it prevents women from undergoing surgery while increasing pregnancy success, reaching 40% if the woman is under 35 years old.
IVF is performed after ovarian stimulation of the patient through medication. This is intended to get oocytes of good quality, which will then be extracted and fertilized in the laboratory with partner or donor semen. The resulting embryos will be transferred to the uterus, waiting for them to implant and get the pregnancy.
Although IVF can also be done with donor eggs (increasing the pregnancy rate), this decision has nothing to do with the fact that the woman has a tubal ligation.
Can tubal ligation fail?
Although tubal ligation is a highly reliable method, according to experts there may be a failure rate of around 0.5%, which is generally due to problems in the art or spontaneous repermeabilization of the linked pieces.
In Babies and more Birth control during breastfeeding, which one is more advisable? In short, if in the past you had a tubal ligation but now you have changed your mind, consult your doctor about the best way to proceed in your case because, as We have seen, reversal surgery is not always possible.Photos | iStock
