Outpatient laparoscopic tubal anastomosis and subsequent fertility

Objective: To determine the reproductive outcome of women who undergo laparoscopic tubal anastomosis. Design: Observational prospective study. Setting: University-affiliated infertility medical center. Patient(s): One hundred two patients seeking reversal of tubal sterilization. Intervention(s): Laparoscopic tubal anastomosis was performed with a one-suture technique. Main Outcome Measure(s): Pregnancy rate. Result(s): There were 69 isthmic-isthmic, 16 isthmic-ampullary, 12 cornual-isthmic, and 5 ampullary ampullary anastomoses. The mean operative time was 71.35 minutes. Eight patients had bilateral tubal obstruction on postoperative hysterosalpingography. Sixty-nine patients (70%) conceived. Sixty-four (65.3%) had ongoing intrauterine pregnancies, 15 (21.7%) had spontaneous abortions, and 5 (7.2%) had ectopic pregnancies. Conclusion(s): This study demonstrates that laparoscopic tubal anastomosis can be done safely and successfully on an outpatient basis, reducing costs and postoperative morbidity while accelerating the patient's return to normal activities. (Fertil Steril(R) 1999,72:549-52. (C) 1999 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.).