Often women, during their initial year’s post wedding, in consent with their partner, are sure that they never want to get pregnant. Was this the case with you when on a whim, you had your tubal ligation surgery, to have your tubes tied. Soon years later, you change your mind and finally, want to get pregnant. So what is your option? You simply get a tubal reversal surgery. Tubal reversal surgery will reattach your fallopian tube, giving you the chance to get pregnant again.

What to do before the surgery

Before you decide to have a tubal reversal surgery, your doctor will make a decision for the surgery based on:

Your age

The surgical procedure that you will have to undergo to have your tubes tied

Your overall health and the health of your ovaries, uterus and most importantly the length of the remaining fallopian tube

Doctors generally take patients for a tubal reversal surgery, if small parts of your fallopian tubes were removed, or they were closed using rings or clips.

Once you are in talks with the doctor about the reversal procedure, he/she will ask you and your partner to have a complete physical exam. This is done to ensure that both of you are in a fertile condition and once the tubal reversal surgery is done, you two will have a high chance of getting pregnant.

Through blood and imaging tests, the physical exam will make sure that your ovaries are normal. A test called hysterosalpingogram (HSG) will be conducted on you to check the viability and the length of your fallopian tubes. Your partner will also have to go through certain tests like sperm count and semen analysis, to rule out any major fertility problems on his part.

On the day of your surgery

You won’t have to stay overnight for a tubal reversal surgery, so you can visit either a hospital or an outpatient center. You will be administered with anesthesia to make you sleep and continue the entire procedure pain-free.

The surgeon will insert the laparoscope through your belly button and into your pelvis. This will allow your surgeon to take another look at your fallopian tube and check whether reversal surgery is possible or not. If your surgeon decides that your fallopian tube is good for surgery, he will proceed to make an incision called a bikini cut alongside your pubic hair line. Microscopic instruments are attached to the end of the laparoscope; this helps the surgeon to remove any rings or clips that were used to close the fallopian tubes. The surgeon then reconnects the ends of the fallopian tubes to the uterus, using very small and fine stitches. The whole procedure takes about 2 to 3 hours.

As most tubal reversal surgeries are laparoscopic, it takes a week or two for a full recovery. Most women even start working from the second week. However, consult your doctor on your recovery process.

Cost of the procedure

It must be noted that insurance generally doesn’t cover a tubal reversal surgery. Along with the surgery, doctor, anesthesia and hospital fees, the bill may run to several thousand dollars.