Is tubal ligation reversible?
Yes and no. Reversal surgery can sometimes be done, but it does not necessarily restore fertility. Success rates for the reversal of female sterilization procedures can be misleading since up to 70% of women requesting reversals are not accepted for surgery because too much damage has been done to the fallopian tubes or other reproductive organs.3 Therefore, “women must consider any sterilization technique as permanent.”4 What are the health risks of tubal ligation? “Depending on the sterilization technique used, between 800 and 2,000 women per 100,000 can expect a major complication at the time of operation,” according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute.5 Minilaparotomy patients may suffer from such complications as infection, injury to the bladder or bleeding from a major blood vessel, and burning of the bowel or other structures. There also can be anesthesia complications.6 Laparoscopy has serious complications such as perforation of the bowel leading to massive infection of the abdom
