Tubal Ligation Reversal How Long Before Pregnancy

This is topic How Long Before Pregnancy after TR? in forum After Tubal Reversal at Tubal Reversal Message Board.

Women who chose Dr. Gary Berger as their tubal reversal doctor discuss how quickly they became pregnant after tubal reversal surgery at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. Many of the patients that have already posted a response received their first positive pregnancy test within 3 months of their tubal reversal surgery.

One patient posted that within 34 months of her tubal reversal surgery with Dr. Berger she had already given birth to two tubal reversal babies and is currently 6 months pregnant with her third tubal reversal baby! This is very encouraging to patients still planning their tubal reversal.

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Posted by ChucksGirl (Member # 8875) on January 26, 2008 06:06 PM:

After tubal ligation reversal how long before pregnancy? I am interested to hear any and all reports about this.

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Posted by PaulnJenn (Member # 10984) on January 26, 2008 06:19 PM:

Hey Chucksgirl-
It really doesn't take long for some. I had my TR 11/19/07 and my first BFP on 12/30/07. Unfortunately, it ended on 01/14/08. BUT that was pretty quick for me and I am happy with knowing that it can happen.

I hope the more successful stories will chime in because there are quite a few!
GL!
Jenn

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Posted by Michelle39 (Member # 11154) on January 26, 2008 07:29 PM:

Hi Chucksgirl, I had my tr 3/12/07 & 1st bfp 6/13/07 ended on 6/29/07 e/p. 2nd bfp 8/25/07 ended mc. 2nd hsg on 1/08/08 showed right tube wide opened & on 1/25/08 I just tested w/fact plus & it's a BFP I'm thrilled & I'm going on monday to get my 1st hcg num.'s I just hope that they double & this one is a keeper!!! Did you get your tr yet? If you did when? Best of Luck and baby dust to all..Michelle

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Posted by motherof2 (Member # 8207) on January 26, 2008 07:31 PM:

It took me 1yr & 4 months.

ME-34
DH-37
DD-18
DD-16
BFP- 1/4/08
EDD- 9/11/08

TR- 8/22/06
R- 7.0
L- 7.5

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Posted by berta8133 (Member # 11188) on January 26, 2008 07:37 PM:

TR 7/23/07
3cm each side

BFP 9/12/07 (first cycle)
E/P 9/25/07

BFP 11/30/07
M/C 12/8/07

Currently TTC, hoping 3x a charm!!

Berta: 38

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Posted by USMCMP Wife (Member # 9691) on January 26, 2008 07:56 PM:

Well the 1st time I got my 1st BFP was 2 months after my TR which was on May 2, 2006. I of course mc but then 2 months after that I got a BFP again w/twins and well we lost one of the twins in the beginning of the pg it observobed but on June 1, 2007 we had a healthy happy boy RJ who is now 7 months old and almost 24lbs. Also I am 41 years old I had him 2 days before my 41st bday.

Hugs,
Heidi & RJ

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Posted by rkandlm (Member # 6776) on January 26, 2008 09:06 PM:

HI!

This is about me

Me 32
DH 42
DD 14
DS 11
DD 8
DS 2 (1st TR baby)
EDD 3-30-08 w/ TR baby #2

TL 9-99
TR 11-04
I got PG with 1st TR baby 1.5 months after TR.
I got PG with 2nd TR and we had only BD 1 time that month! (really busy month! HAHA)

That's our story!
[Love] Lisa
EDD 3-30-08 with
TR baby #2....It's a girl!

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Posted by momto10 (Member # 11808) on January 26, 2008 09:13 PM:

Lisa, I love your story. It gives me hope. I just had my TR on the 17th and I am afraid to BD all this week. I am due to O on Tuesday. I'm afraid that it would raise the chances of tubal pregnancy, if my tubes were still swollen..

Gwen

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Posted by khadija (Member # 7447) on January 26, 2008 09:57 PM:

It is different for many people. As for me it did not take long. I had my TR march 31 05 and TR#1 was born the same year in Dec. We got PG again right away with Tr #2 and he was born 13 months after the 1st one. I am now Pg with TR # 3 and she is due in May so if you add it up I had my TR 34 months ago and I have 2 babies and 6 months PG with # 3, so it does work. Wishing you the best. Feel free to ask me any questions.
Khadija

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Posted by Theboysmomma (Member # 11342) on January 26, 2008 11:44 PM:

I had my TR done 11/21/07 and got pregnant the first time DH and i were together after surgery. Needless to say, we weren't quite trying yet, it just happened. That pregnancy ended 12/31/07 in emergency surgery as an ovarian ectopic. We are currently trying again.

Katie-27
DD-10
DS-9
DS-7
DS-5

TL- 3/1/02
TR- 11/21/07
OVARIAN E\P- 12/31/07

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Posted by momto10 (Member # 11808) on January 27, 2008 09:10 AM:

khadija, Thanks for sharing. Congratualtions! I love how many TR babies you have. I hope mine goes as well. I will be waiting to conceive until next month.

Does anyone have a count on the most births to one woman following a TR?

Gwen

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Posted by mama12 (Member # 11260) on January 27, 2008 09:39 AM:

TR 10-15-07
MC 11-20-07
EP 12-14-07 lost right tube.
We will be trying again after another complete cycle. So in March.
Dr. said after all the trauma of MC and EP I need to wait. My body seriously needs a good long break. He said if I got preg in that next month after the tube removal, it would be a guarantee it wouldn't go well. Anesthesia, pain meds it was all yucky stuff in my system, my organs being messed with repeatedly....
As you can see I was pregnant 2 weeks after TR.
IF I had to do it all again I would wait at very least a full complete 30 days to TTC and NOT after my 1st period. My first AF was 1 week after TR.
I would wait just to make sure the healing had been complete. The surgery is rough on the body. I still think if I would've waited things would've turned out better. I was kind of shocked to be BFP so fast. I was still weak and healing. It just wasn't good for me at all. Basically we cut the stitches and BAM I was BFP.

My personal recommendation is to wait until you feel 100% healed, not good enough or kind of healed... Gwen the tube swelling is a concern I had too.
A full month, not your first AF or even 2 can make a world of difference I think. By 2 months you should be perfect. It's just my opinion, we've been through hell so far TTC. I don't want to repeat it. For me waiting is best.

I hate waiting, but I want to be sure everything is PERFECT in there!!

I think Miss Khadija is the most I've heard of with 3!!! You go girl!!! [Smile]
I can't wait to be BFP again. Sigh... our wait time is going fast so it's ok. [Smile]
1 month down, Feb to go. Then try in March!
Everybody is different, I guess it's go with how you feel and how your body reacts to surgeries and trauma like that during your whole life.
My body likes to take it's sweet time so I'm listening to it.

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Posted by Terra (Member # 7122) on January 27, 2008 10:20 AM:

Hi!

This is about me

Me 36
DH 37
DS 13
DS 12
DS 5
TR 1/7/05
DD TR baby 2(today!)

We are all done now. DH has had a vasectomy. We decided 4 C-sections was enough. Best of luck in your journey!

Terra

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Posted by debjim (Member # 8607) on January 27, 2008 10:42 AM:

I had my TR on 3/1/06 Last Af was in 7/06 and I got my BFP in Aug/06. My daughter is 9 months old.

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Posted by nursejones72 (Member # 11878) on January 27, 2008 12:38 PM:

Khadija,
My name is Tessa and I was reading your post. You conceived twice without any complications and I think that is wonderful and I hope that is how it works for me. What are your tube lengths? I just had my TR on the 24th, do you think it is too soon to BD? My AF ended yesterday, so in about 6 days I will be ovulating. I am a little unsure if I should wait till after another AF or not. My DH says whatever I want to do, he is ready whenever I am ready. What do you suggest? I understand that the pregnancy outcomes are different for each. Thanks

Tessa

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Posted by Gary S Berger MD (Member # 3) on January 27, 2008 01:40 PM:

First pregnancies after tubal reversal have occurred within weeks up to as long as 4 years. I believe that the most children reported to us so far after tubal reversal is four, but there are many women who have had two or three children since their reversals. In my next analysis of the Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Study for 2008, I will take a closer look at this and include information in the report in answer to the question about "tubal ligation reversal how long before pregnancy".

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Posted by Annjeana (Member # 10632) on January 27, 2008 01:52 PM:

Well it only took me about 6 weeks [Smile] I never even had a period after my TR. I was on AF durning TR and I have very long cycles So to my surprise on CD 68 and 8 DPO I got my BFP and now have a sweet little girl that is 5 weeks old.. I could not beleive that I got PG on my first cycle, it has not even been a year sense my TR and I already have a baby [Smile] Dr. Berger is AWESOME!
Angel

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Posted by Gary S Berger MD (Member # 3) on January 27, 2008 03:07 PM:

The question that stimulated this message board discussion was an excellent one. The information about how long it takes to become pregnant after tubal reversal and how many babies patients have had after the reversal can be found by following the links to Pregnancy and Birth Testimonials and the New Pregnancies reports. There are thousands of individual pages of these, and it would take an enormous effort to go through all of these pages on our website. That is why I do a yearly statistical analysis of our patient database and prepare a Tubal Reversal Study Pregnancy Report.

Tubal Reversal Information

How Do I Determine Which Tubal Reversal Information Is Accurate?
A member of The Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center Message Board posts her concerns that she has read a lot of conflicting information about the best tubal reversal techniques. Members of Dr. Gary Berger's staff - as well as other patients - offer information and encouragement. On the Internet, claims about tubal reversal pregnancy rates are often made without supporting information or documentation - such as a description of the patient population, study method, and follow-up interval. Most Internet sites about tubal reversal do not provide any factual data at all. Any doctor may say that his patients have a particular success rate, but supporting the claim with actual data involves considerable effort. Performing a follow-up study such as the one Dr. Berger compiles requires keeping an accurate record of patients and their findings, as well as maintaining ongoing patient contact to determine the outcomes of treatment. Without this detailed type of information, the accuracy of any claim of success rates should be questioned.

The following is topic Other websites in forum Preparing for Tubal Reversal from the Tubal Reversal Message Board:
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Posted by Impatient (Member # 5526) on November 27, 2007 03:00 PM:
I have been looking at this board and other TR sites for a long time and wonder why their seem to be so many difrent stories on the best way to do the surgery, dye tests, no dye tests, 3 layers or 2. Honestly, it seems that some people are just trying to throw out stuff to run people off or to be misleading. How should me and my dh know what is right?
Carrie
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Posted by CarlaJo (Member # 10380) on November 27, 2007 03:04 PM:
By the statistics of pregnancy and the recovery time. Dr. Berger and his staff are awesome! I did my research also, and he had the best stats for my age and type of ligation.
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Posted by Julia Smith, RN (Member # 10) on November 27, 2007 03:07 PM:
Hi, Carrie. I was asked this same question just a few days ago and do have e-mail requests with this same question fairly frequently. I usually respond that the "three layers are better than two" theory is just the opinion of one doctor on the internet!
Dr. Berger sews the muscular and outer serosal layers together but not the inner endothelial layer as this may increase the risk of scar formation within the tubal lumen. In his opinion, this is the best approach. The suggestion I always make is to read through the testimonials from our patients. All of those women had surgery performed by Dr. Berger using the microsurgical techniques he pioneered -- with pregnancy rates near 80% in our latest follow-up survey. This is a clear indication that his techniques are successful and result in pregnancies!
On the Internet, claims about tubal reversal pregnancy rates are often made without supporting information or documentation - such as a description of the patient population, study method, and follow-up interval. Most Internet sites about tubal reversal do not provide any factual data at all. Any doctor may say that his patients have a particular success rate, but supporting the claim with actual data involves considerable effort. Performing a follow-up study such as the one Dr. Berger compiles requires keeping an accurate record of patients and their findings, as well as maintaining ongoing patient contact to determine the outcomes of treatment. Without this detailed type of information, the accuracy of any claim of success rates should be questioned.
I hope this is helpful!
Julia Smith, RN
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Posted by Sarah Meacham, RN (Member # 9766) on November 27, 2007 03:16 PM:
Hi Carrie,
We keep very detailed data and statistics on each of our patients (age, tube length, medical history, tube of tubal ligation, pregnancy history, etc.). This is obtained by daily contact with our patients to ensure we have accurate information regarding their surgery and their outcome. To the best of my knowledge, Dr. Berger is the only doctor with published data regarding outcomes following reversal surgery.
Please contact me (SarahM@tubal-reversal.net) with any other questions you may have and we look forward to having you as a future patient!
Sarah
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Posted by Jennifer Okun, R.N. (Member # 1806) on November 27, 2007 03:17 PM:
Hi Carrie,
What Julia answered is exactly right! Dr. Berger has been performing the reversal surgery for over 30 years, has performed over 6,000 reversals and has the most tubal reversal babies born world-wide. So, obviously Dr. Berger's technique is the best and he is doing it the best way possible.
I have worked for Dr. Berger for nearly 10 years and I can assure you - he is an amazing surgeon!
You will have the best outcome possible if you decide to undergo reversal surgery at our facility with Dr. Berger.
You may email me anytime with questions: Jennifer O@tubal-reversal.net
Best wishes!
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Posted by Jennifer Okun, R.N. (Member # 1806) on November 27, 2007 03:20 PM:
I should also add that Dr. Berger is the only physician in the country with a practice that is specifically limited to tubal reversal surgery. That is the only procedure we perform here with Dr. Berger performing four reversals each day, five days a week. We have a high staff/patient ratio with one or two nurses devoted specifically to your care while you are here. All of our nurses have advanced certification in cardiac life support (ACLS) and our anesthesiologists are MD's with board certification in anesthesia. The anesthesiologists are employees here and not anesthesia staff from another hospital or anesthesia service. So everyone here has expertise in caring for and performing reversal surgery. While you are here, you will only be with other women and couples who are here specifically for the same purpose.
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Posted by Rhonda Brown, RN (Member # 9485) on November 27, 2007 03:36 PM:
Dear Carrie,What a good question. We get asked this question quite a bit. The best tool that any patient can have is information. I do not know of any other physician that puts out the information that Dr. Berger provides. We encourage patients to check his credentials and to ask as many questions as they need to. We provide 24/7 coverage seven days a week not only to our patients that have had surgery, but to patients that are thinking of having tubal reversal surgery.
As you browse the message board and read all the posts you will see that experience is a factor with tubal reversal surgery We have had many patients come to Dr. Berger after they had been told that tubal reversal could not be done in their case and then Dr. Berger was able to successfully repair the tubes as he is able to do in 98% of the cases.
I do not think that you will find a more caring physician who is truely devoted to the procedure that he performs as well as patient care. We as staff members feel very fortunate to be a part of this experience and would love to meet you in the near future. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Rhonda

Tubal Reversal a better option than IVF

Survey finds Tubal Reversal is a better option than IVF.

AN OPERATION to reverse sterilisation of women over 40 who want another baby is significantly more successful and tens of thousands of dollars cheaper than IVF, an Australian study has found.

The study, published yesterday in the Medical Journal of Australia reports live births after tubal reanastomosis were successful in 40 per cent of women aged between 40 and 47, compared with an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) success rate of just 5 per cent for women aged 40 to 42 and 2 per cent for older women.

The direct cost of a reversal is $4850 per treatment, and $11,317 per live birth, compared with about $6940 per cycle of IVF treatment, and $97,884 per live birth for women aged 40 to 42, increasing to $182,794 for older women.

The study, titled Live birth following day surgery reversal of female sterilisation in women older than 40 years: a realistic option in Australia? said tubal surgery was a "better option" and "highly cost effective" compared with IVF for women over 40.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald More information

Press Release - Tubal Reversal Study 2007

NEW STUDY SHOWS TUBAL REVERSAL SURGERY IS BETTER OPTION FOR WOMEN DESIRING CHILDREN AFTER TUBAL LIGATION

Six-year study shows tubal reversal surgery results in higher pregnancy and live birth rates and is less costly than IVF.

(CHAPEL HILL, NC) – Dr. Gary S. Berger, M.D., director of Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, today released the most comprehensive study done to date of tubal reversal surgery and its resulting outcomes, showing that for the majority of women who have undergone a tubal ligation procedure and decide later they would like to have more children, tubal reversal surgery is a better option than in vitro fertilization (IVF).

“The results are clear – across all ages of women included, our results with tubal reversal surgery led to higher numbers of pregnancies and live births than standard IVF procedures.” said Berger. “Besides having higher success rates, the one-hour outpatient procedure is less than half the cost of an IVF cycle.”

“Many people, including doctors, mistakenly believe that tubal ligation surgery is a permanent method of birth control,” continued Dr. Berger. Tubal reversal surgery – a one-hour outpatient procedure – rejoins the separated segments of fallopian tube so that eggs can become fertilized and travel down the tubes to the uterus, allowing a pregnancy to occur naturally.”

When the tubal reversal statistics from Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center were compared with the latest national IVF statistics, pregnancy and birth rates after tubal reversal were higher than after IVF in every age group. Besides its higher success rate, the cost of the one-hour outpatient tubal reversal operation performed by Dr. Berger is less than half the cost of an IVF cycle.

The study report includes 3,139 patients who underwent tubal reversal surgery by Dr. Berger between January 2001 and December 2005. This is the largest and most definitive study in existence that provides information on the outcome of tubal reversal surgery.

At the conclusion of the study interval, 69 percent of the women in Dr. Berger’s study had reported pregnancies. The pregnancy rate ranged from 82 percent for women under 30 to 41 percent for women 40 years of age and older. The highest pregnancy rate (87 percent) was among women age under 30 after reversal of a previous ring or clip method of sterilization.

Dr. Berger, one of the pioneers of tubal reversal surgery, is a reproductive surgeon who specializes in and limits his practice to outpatient tubal reversal surgery.