Factors determining fertility after conservative or radical surgical treatment for ectopic pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

To examine factors determining choice of radical or conservative surgical procedure for tubal ectopic pregnancy and subsequent pregnancy rates.

DESIGN

A retrospective study collating information from the operative notes and previous gynecologic history associated with the choice of procedure and pregnancy rates and outcome over 3 years after a primary tubal ectopic pregnancy.

PATIENT(S): Thirty-four women who had undergone conservative (tube sparing) and 56 who had undergone radical (salpingectomy) surgical treatment for tubal ectopic pregnancy at least 3 years before the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The main outcome measure was the occurrence of a pregnancy (live birth, miscarriage, or ectopic pregnancy) over 3 years after the ectopic pregnancy.

RESULT(S): The type of surgery performed was not affected by a previous history of infertility, known pelvic inflammatory disease, the presence of tubal adhesions, or abnormalities on the contralateral tube. Intrauterine pregnancy was not more likely after conservative treatment of ectopic pregnancy but, equally important, the risk of a further ectopic pregnancy was not increased. The single factor that was clearly associated with future fertility problems was a past history of infertility.

CONCLUSION(S): Better results may be obtained by careful selection of operative procedure based on history and findings at the time of surgery.