Acute pelvic inflammatory disease after tubal sterilization. A report of three cases.

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is considered to be rare or nonexistent following tubal sterilization. The purpose of this report is to describe three cases of surgically diagnosed acute PID in women previously sterilized by bilateral tubal ligation who presented over a one-year period. All three patients presented with an acute abdomen, fever and elevated white blood cell count. Our experience suggests that PID following tubal sterilization is more common than previously described and can present a diagnostic dilemma.