Tubes removed?

pumpkinhead4

Has anyone had their tubes removed or planning to have it
done with a csection? Just looking for feedback and thoughts. Thanks!

Kern91

Do you mean have your tubes tied? My hospital here doesn't do that during csection so I didn't have that done. I heard it is just a little longer for recovery.

pumpkinhead4

No, I mean removed. It's apparently the newest alternative to them being tied. They just take them out completely. 

amm0512

I had a tubal ligation during my last c section. My doctor told me about the removal procedure but said they prefer not to do that during c sections; because your organs have increased blood flow and volume due to the pregnancy, you are more likely to bleed heavily if you have the procedure done immediately. There are benefits to the removal, but i wanted my procedure done while I was open on the table, so I went with the ligation. 

pumpkinhead4

amm0512 said:

I had a tubal ligation during my last c section. My doctor told me about the removal procedure but said they prefer not to do that during c sections; because your organs have increased blood flow and volume due to the pregnancy, you are more likely to bleed heavily if you have the procedure done immediately. There are benefits to the removal, but i wanted my procedure done while I was open on the table, so I went with the ligation. 

Thank you. This is the type of feedback I am looking for. When was your tubal? Any side effects now? I Keep reading about blood supply to the ovaries being affected and causing pre menopause issues. 

2-Step

I'm having mine removed. I have a strong family history of both breast and ovarian cancer and my grandmother's cancer was found in her tubes. My doc completely agreed that this was the way to go if I was considering sterilization during c-section. He did give me a warning about higher chance of bleeding, but also said he has never seen it happen and he has to give me that warning, but he isn't worried about it. He also said that compared with the c-section, the tube removal is a very simple fast procedure and shouldn't really cause any additional problems at all because the incisions are really small to remove tubes, like it will take 5 minutes extra. Also, his take on the blood to the ovaries thing is that any abdominal surgery can cause scar tissue or damage organs, but it is definitely not the norm at all and he has not seen it among his patients.

The added benefit of removal is that it also makes it impossible to get pregnant and you don't have to worry about the increased chance of eptopic pregnancy or tubes growing back together like with a ligation. I did a lot of research and found many studies that show there is no increased morbidity rate with tube removal vs. ligation.

The flip side is that there isn't enough long term evidence to really 100% say this should be the way to go every time and of course you should absolutely be sure you are done having kids because it is not reversible at all. My OB said that he does believe that it will someday be the preferred method. The other question is whether your insurance will cover it. I've had it run through a few times with different codes and they say they do. My doctor and I have our fingers crossed because he has had problems before with some insurance not covering it as a means of sterilization. 

For me and my family history I think it makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure it does if there is no family history or genetic indicators. I haven't had the BRCA gene test yet, but I probably will and I think if it turns out I have the gene I would regret not taking care of this during my c-section.  Here are a few of the resources I found, there are a ton more if you google around. Adding Vancouver B.C. to the search helps because it has become standard practice there already:

https://www.ovariancancer.org/2010/09/10/removing-fallopian-tubes-during-hysterectomies-cuts-ovarian-cancer-b-c-study/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671016/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3671023/

pumpkinhead4

Thank you 2 step. I appreciate all the info you provided. Still deciding....

egraves4

I think my story is a little different because I didn't have a choice, but I did get my uterus and tubes removed. It's called a supracervical hysterectomy.  Recovery hasn't been awful, but I don't have much to compare it to because I never had a c-section.  I'm 11 days pp and I can easily go to the bathroom, get in and out of bed, hold and nurse my baby, and even get up from the floor without assistance.   They left my cervix and ovaries intact because I am 22. I had a complication after delivery and the doctors didn't want me to have to go through menopause or lose my eggs (I'll be looking into gestational surrogacy in the future). 

amm0512

pumpkinhead4 said:

amm0512 said:

I had a tubal ligation during my last c section. My doctor told me about the removal procedure but said they prefer not to do that during c sections; because your organs have increased blood flow and volume due to the pregnancy, you are more likely to bleed heavily if you have the procedure done immediately. There are benefits to the removal, but i wanted my procedure done while I was open on the table, so I went with the ligation. 

Thank you. This is the type of feedback I am looking for. When was your tubal? Any side effects now? I Keep reading about blood supply to the ovaries being affected and causing pre menopause issues. 

My tubal was Nov 27. No side effects that i've noticed yet. My first PP period was a little sporadic, I had spotting for about two weeks after my "period" and now seem to be back in a cycle. 

Did you read about the blood supply beingaffected by the ligation or the removal?  My mom had a tubal ligation after she had me and did not start menopause till over 20 years later. 

PugsandKisses

Your ovaries are not connected to your tubes, they are mostly free floating organs.  So a tubal of any kind can not affect blood flood to your ovaries.  I know some people have posted about hormonal changes but there is no studies that have confirmed that. Also, there are many women who have hysterectomies but keep the ovaries for hormonal balance.  

corndogrobot

I had my c section and tubal ligation done in July 2015. No problems no complications. I didn't feel like it made my recovery any longer. But I had a much longer recover from a vaginal birth and a 4th degree internal tear from the first time I gave birth.  I recommend getting it done at the same time if you are getting a CS anyway. Recovering from a CS and then the tubal months later will certainly take more time. Good luck with your decision. 

corndogrobot

I also wanted to add removing the tubes is the new standard. My mom had hers tied and burned 22 years ago and my brother was born a year later. Removing the tubes is more effective. 

2-Step

I just had this done last week. So far the only difference I've noticed from my other c-sections is that post partum bleeding lasted about a week rather than only couple days like with my other two. By bleeding, I really mean more like spotting. I haven't had any significant bleeding at all with any of my c-sections. I haven't noticed any increased pain compared to the others. The surgeon said everything went really well and there shouldn't be any problems. I obviously haven't had a period yet and won't for a long time because I don't get them while breastfeeding. I was told my first period could be heavy due and after that things should return to normal. Good luck with your decision!

rozANDbenSINCE2001

I'm sorry to hijack, but for those who had tubal ligation during c-section, did you have to go completely under anesthesia? I was awake during m first c-section and loved being able to see my DD after they cleaned her up, but I am very seriously considering tubal ligation with my next c-section in October and was hoping to hear a little more about it from those with experience. Thank you so much for any info!

amm0512

No, they did not sedate me or put me under general anesthesia for my tubal ligation following my c section. DH left the OR with DD and then they immediately started my tubal. Added maybe 20 minutes on the tail end of the surgery, so DD was about 40 minutes post birth by the time I got to the recovery room. 

corndogrobot

@rozANDbenSINCE2001 no I was awake the whole time. My husband held  our daughter while they did the procedure. They put her on me after they finished and removed the surgical curtain. With her in my arms, We were then taken to recovery and my daughter and I were never separated.