Surgical Sterilization
By Dr. de Winter
So even though the focus of our practice is the pelvic floor, I have a special interest in taking care of women who are finished having children or who have not had children (childfree) and are not planning to have any future pregnancies.
Contraception has become so much better than it was even 20-30 years ago from pills, patches, vaginal rings, injections and long term, to reversible contraceptives (LARCs) that are inserted in the arm or the uterus and last 4-7 years! However many women know they do not want to become pregnant ever in the future and do not want to use a hormonal method, device, or vaginal product to prevent pregnancy.
I personally have close friends who struggled for years to find a surgeon who would perform the (relatively) simple surgery to either cut or remove the fallopian tubes to permanently prevent future pregnancy, citing outdated research on the risk of regretting the decision. Although regret can happen and is a real concern, many doctors paternalistically refuse to treat women seeking this procedure and do not refer to other providers in the community who offer this surgery. Age under 30 or nulliparity (not having any children) is often cited as a reason to refuse women important care.
The current recommendation is to completely remove the fallopian tubes laparoscopically (through 3 small 5mm holes in the abdomen). When completely removed, the risk of pregnancy is almost 0% (though no surgery except taking out the uterus is perfect). I remove the whole tube to reduce the risk of future fallopian tube or ovarian cancers (and I think it probably prevents post tubal pain syndrome). There is a small risk of more blood loss or complications and the surgery might take a few minutes longer then just burning or cutting the tubes. The surgery takes about 30 minutes, is performed under general anesthesia, and you get to go home the same day. Recovery is different for all women, but most ladies are out of work 3-14 days.
There are other important factors to consider before having any surgery, but if you are ready to have this procedure contact our practice or your local gynecologist to find out more.
ACOG Sterilization of Women Guidelines
