Risks of Having Your Tubes Tied - Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome

Next to birth control pills, having your tubes tied is the second most used method to keep from having kids. Most people consider it a permanent form of female sterilization, so it's supposedly good for those who are really sure about no more children. However, what most women don't know is that there are tubal ligation side effects called post tubal ligation syndrome, among other things.

The purpose of having your tubes tied is to prevent the sperm from reaching the egg which has been released from the ovary and is moving down the fallopian tube. To prevent this, damage in one form or another is done to the fallopian tubes hoping that the sperm will not meet the egg and fertilize it. But in doing this damage to the fallopian tubes other things are damaged as well. This further damage can be done to the blood supply to the ovaries or to the receptor cells which carry the messages about hormone release. If the damage is extensive enough, it can cause ovarian isolation which leads to atrophied ovaries and the subsequent affect on your health.

Due to these effects of tubal ligation, post tubal ligation syndrome is thought to be the result of lacking hormones or hormonal imbalance. Although there are studies which state there is no significant difference in hormone levels between women who have had their tubes tied and those who haven't, there are others which do show such imbalance in women post tubal ligation.

What you might want to know is who is most at risk of developing post tubal ligation syndrome? There are two parts to the answer to that question.

First, women who have the more destructive types of tubal ligation are usually the ones that seem to be more at risk of developing post tubal ligation syndrome or ptls. These are the methods which do the most damage to the mid-section of the fallopian tubes. Included in these methods are the Pomeroy and Irving-type ligation methods as well as the use of coagulation and more specifically bi-polar coagulation where two or more places on the fallopian tubes are burned. Having your tubes tied with clips or rings appear to be less destructive and, therefore, less of a risk for developing ptls.

Secondly, it appears that women in their 20s who have their tubes tied are more at risk of developing post tubal ligation syndrome than women in their 30s or 40s. One study even stated that women in their 20s were 6 times more likely to end up in the hospital for "menstrual disorders" than older women following tubal ligation. This does not mean, however, that older women are completely safe from ptls (as can be learned from the ptls forum at the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center's message board as well as other boards for women), merely that younger women are more likely, based upon one study, to suffer from it.

Now if you are already suffering from the many symptoms of post tubal ligation syndrome or if you go through with having your tubes tied and then begin to suffer from ptls, you may be wondering how to get rid of it. The answer lies in having a tubal reversal. However, you don't want a tubal reversal from just anyone. Be sure to find a very experienced tubal reversal doctor in order to have your best chance of a successful reversal. We are defining "success" as meaning your symptoms go away or very reduced.

One doctor who is keeping statistics on tubal reversals for relief of post tubal ligation syndrome has about a 90% success rate with this surgery. He is Dr. Gary Berger and has many years of experience in tubal surgery as well as one of the best records around. In fact, he keeps statistics on his patients and conducts follow ups which most doctors do not. If you want to do more research on how having your tubes tied can affect your life, just visit his website and learn from the resources there as well as on the message board where you can meet other women who have had tubal ligations.