Reproductive outcome after tubal reversal in women 40 years of age or older.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the reproductive outcome of women who received a microsurgical tubal anastomosis operation at age 40 years or older.

DESIGN

Multicenter retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Four university teaching hospitals.

PATIENTS: Fifty-two women having undergone tubal sterilization reversal at age > or = 40 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Pregnancy and live birth rate.

RESULTS

Of the 52 women, 10 were lost to follow-up. Of those traced, 18 of 42 (42.8 percent) conceived. Of those 18, 6 patients had a live birth, 10 patients had a first trimester spontaneous abortion, 1 patient had an ectopic pregnancy, and 1 patient had an elective termination. Overall, the live birth rate was 14.3 percent, spontaneous abortion rate was 23.8 percent, and ectopic pregnancy rate was 2.4 percent.

CONCLUSIONS

Microsurgical tubal anastomosis is a justifiable alternative to IVF-ET in women age 40 years or older.