Blocked Tubes - What Procedures are there for Treating Women?

Throughout the USA there are millions of women who suffer from blocked fallopian tubes. The reasons that they suffer from blocked tubes varies. They may have contracted pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or for others it is caused because they have contracted an infection in the fallopian tubes called salpingitis.

It isn't only infections that can cause a woman's fallopian tubes to become blocked. Sometimes it can be intentional. There are thousands of women in the USA each year that choose to undergo tubal ligation so that they are prevented from having any children.

But whatever the reason for the fallopian tubes being blocked, this means that the woman cannot have a child naturally. Yet no matter what the reason is for the fallopian tubes being blocked, there are procedures which can be carried out to rectify the problem. There are three different procedures that surgeons are able to use today which help to remove the tubal blockage. Below we take a brief look at each one.

1. Tubal Reanastomosis

Tubal reanastomosis requires the use of micro-surgical techniques to allow the blocked part of the fallopian tubes to be removed and the clear and open ends to be reconnected following the original tubal ligation surgery. This procedure is also called tubal ligation reversal or tubal reversal. Generally the surgeon carries out this surgery to reconnect the tubes that were cut, burned or clipped in the original tubal ligation.

However, this procedure can also be used for tubes blocked as a result of disease or infection with the tubal surgeon first removing the damaged portions of the fallopian tubes and then doing the tubal reanastomosis (which simply means joining back together) to suture the good portions of the fallopian tubes together. This creates a clear passage way for the egg to get to the uterus. No more blocked tubes.

2. Tubouterine Implantation

This surgical procedure will only be used in those cases where only the distal portion of the fallopian tubes remains. Something has happened to the portion of the tubes that are closest to the uterus, the proximal portion, and they have been removed or burned during a tubal ligation. Possibly an infection has just made a mess of that part of the tubes and must be removed.

What the surgeon needs to do is create a new opening into the uterus by making an incision into the uterine muscle. Once the incision has been made part of the fallopian tube that remains is passed through into the uterine cavity and sutured into place. This procedure will only be carried out by a surgeon when he feels that tubal reanastomosis is not possible because there is insufficient or no proximal tubal segment remaining. Such a surgery is done for women wanting an Essure reversal to have the device removed so they can have a child again.

3. Salpingostomy

Salpingectomy, although used for treating blocked tubes, is often also used for treating women suffering an ectopic pregnancy. This is where the fetus has been able to grow outside rather than inside the uterus. The surgery removes a portion and sometimes the whole fallopian tube where the fetus is growing. If the whole tube is not removed then what remains can be helped although the remaining length of tube can affect a successful outcome.

One form of tubal ligation is called fimbriectomy. In this, the surgeon removes the fimbrial end of the fallopian tubes by the ovaries. This might also be done if an infection has damaged the fimbrial end and must be removed. These ends are the parts that catch the egg as it is released from the ovary and gets it into the tube to begin its journey to fertilization, hopefully, and the uterus.

During salpingostomy, the repair procedure, a small incision will be made into the part of the tubes that remains to create a fresh opening. In salpingostomy to repair a fimbriectomy, after the incision has been made into the blocked tubes, the tissue is folded over and then stitched in to place so that the cilia inside the tubes can now capture the egg as the fimbrial end did before.

Most often tubal reanastomosis is used to correct blocked tubes, whether those tubes were blocked intentionally through tubal ligation or by infection and disease. Contrary to what you may have heard elsewhere, including at a fertility center, IVF is not your only hope. Indeed, if you wish to have a natural pregnancy, a surgical option may be your best bet.

By choosing the right tubal surgeon, such as Dr. Gary Berger, you will find that tubal reanastomosis can be the better option over IVF. The surgical procedure at Chapel Hills Tubal Reversal Center is less than half the average cost of one cycle of IVF. Check out the resources available at their website and learn how surgery can be your answer to blocked tubes and having a natural pregnancy again.