Tubal Reversal Success Rates

Tubal Reversal Success Rates – How Effective Is Tubal Ligation Reversal?

Before we begin to discuss how effective is tubal ligation reversal,or the tubal reversal success rates, let’s start with a little background about tubal ligation numbers.

Every year over 600,000 women choose, or in any event undergo, sterilization via tubal ligation or other associated methods.  For many this is the right decision at the right time.

However a proportion of these often come to regret their choice or wish to reverse the procedure due to changed circumstances.  The official figures are around 25% regret their previous surgery within the first 3 years following the sterilization procedure.  If the reverse is due to a desire to bear a child again, then it is sensible to know how effective is tubal ligation reversal.

Tubal Reversal Success Rates – Studies on the Effectiveness of Tubal Reversal

For a lot of women in the lead up to a decision on tubal reversal, there is a search for knowledge and information.  The question as to how effective is tubal ligation reversal can be all absorbing.  After all, who wants to spend thousands without having some knowledge as to what the tubal reversal success rates are.

Unfortunately the quantity and quality of information can be sparse to say the least.  Figures are quoted in quite high percentages as to the “success” of the reversal procedure.  But more often than not, there is no qualification, clarification or a lack of solid evidence to back them up, even if true.

In fact although you would assume that a “success” would mean pregnancy, it is difficult to know.  Is it just the successful completion of the operation itself in a technical way?  We know from medical figures that fallopian tube surgery is generally successful about 98% of the time from hospital records.  But that in itself does not guarantee pregnancy will follow.

There can be issues if the 2 ends of the fallopian tube being joined are of different diameters, or if the length of the 2 halves is less than about 4 inches.  There are other factors to consider when looking at how successful a tubal ligation reversal may be. The method of ligation, patient age and experience of the surgeon all play an important part.

As there have been no government or academic studies done on tubal reversal success rates, what are you to do?  Has anyone actually done a proper study from surgery to pregnancy, or the lack thereof, to determine the success rates of tubal ligation reversal?  Are there actual figures to show the pregnancy rates for all the different circumstances?  This is important for any women thinking and wondering just how effective is tubal ligation reversal.

Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center Study on How Effective Is Tubal Ligation Reversal

The only real in depth study that has been done in significant numbers is that by Dr. Gary Berger of the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center.  This was done with records starting in 2000 and going through 2008 and a follow up report published in 2009.  If you need to look, it is called the Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Study 2009 Pregnancy Rates by Age and Tubal Ligation Method.

If we crudely summarize, then the study showed that on average, that pregnancy rates, or effectiveness, of tubal ligation reversal was around 66%.  Now that was an averaging out of the pregnancy rates recorded, by cross referencing age and original ligation method.  What was clear was that age was the biggest factor by far.

To look in detail at how good is tubal ligation reversal is a rare privilege.  The actual detailed figures from this study are split into 3 parts.

Pregnancy Rates – How Effective Is Tubal Ligation Reversal

The first of those looks at 3 age groups and the variations across those groups for the various original ligation methods used.  One thing was very clear, is that women aged under 30 had a much better chance of pregnancy than the other groups.  80% was the figure and that dropped rapidly across all methods to a figure of 31% when over 40.

The effect of the original ligation method was not as much of a factor in determining how effective is tubal ligation reversal.  Ring or clip ligation came out top of the pile with 72% and 75% respectively.

Finally we can look at the cross referenced figures which clearly shows age as the determining factor again.  The best statistics show that those women under 30 who had undergone clip form of tubal ligation surgery had a massive 90% chance of the tubal ligation reversal being effective and resulting in pregnancy.  However, the number of women under 30 wanting a tubal reversal is a smaller group as most of the women wanting this reversal surgery were in their 30s.

Even when over 40, it appears that this ligation method vastly reduces the failure rate, so that pregnancy has a 31% chance.  The figures for Ligation/Resection are 77% for under 30 patients and 31% for those over 40.  The best type of tubal ligation to want to reverse for the over 40 group according to the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is ring tubal ligation as it had a 46% pregnancy rate.

What About the Tubal Reversal Success Rates of Other Tubal Ligation Procedures

As a side point, we need to talk about Essure sterilization.  This is a very different method of tying the tubes, where the insertion of a metal coil encourages the tissue in the fallopian tubes to grow and seal them up.  It was often thought that reversal success would be minimal from this method.

This has not been the case though.  Dr. Berger has already seen success with this reversal type.  Given that the population of women who have had reversals of Essure or even Adiana sterilizations, there just is not a good population size to give out success statistics.  Suffice it to say, there have been some successes.

How Successful Is Tubal Ligation Reversal? – Tubal Reversal Success Rates

Now the really great thing about these figures, is not only to demonstrate how effective is tubal ligation reversal in itself, but how there needs to be careful consideration of ligation method prior to any sterilization.  Of course, when tying your tubes, who thinks they will want a reversal some day.

It would appear that if you are under 30 then going for rings or clips Fallopian tube method will give you the best chance overall.  But as you creep towards 40, although better, the gap between the methods and successful reversal recovery drops.  Of course Essure and Adiana removal really is the bottom of the pile being a much more involved tubal ligation reversal proces, so perhaps should only be considered as a last resort.

Of course all of these tubal reversal success rates will also depend on the skill of the reversal surgeon on the day which will determine how effective is tubal ligation surgery for you.  Keep this in mind besides everything else when you begin looking around for a surgeon to perform your tubal reversal.