Are you done with childbirth, and don’t want to conceive in future? Tubal ligation may be an option that can help you prevent pregnancy.
Tubal ligation, medically known as tubectomy or simply tying your tubes, is a female sterilization surgical procedure in which a woman’s fallopian tubes are cut, burned shut (cauterized) or clamped off with a clip or ring (band) to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
Every woman has a pair of fallopian tubes in her abdomen within which the male sperm joins the ovum (egg) for fertilization. The fertilized egg travels through these thin, long ducts, about 10 cm long and 0.5 cm in diameter, to the uterus.
In the tubal ligation surgery, these fallopian tubes that connect the ovaries to the uterus are sealed to prevent ovum from reaching the uterus for fertilization. This method of sterilization also disrupts the meeting of the egg and the sperm for fertilization, thus ending a woman”s ability to get pregnant.
For the surgery, surgeons make a tiny incision, nearly 1 cm long, near the navel of the woman to tie (ligate) or seal her fallopian tubes. The whole surgical procedure completes in about 30 minutes in any outpatient surgical clinic.
Generally, women opt for tubal ligation surgery with the intention to permanently prevent fertilization and pregnancy, but many of them later change their mind and wish to conceive again.
An estimated 650,000 American women undergo tubal ligation surgery every year. Mostly young women later begin to regret their decision, and wish to pursue a surgery to reverse their ligation in order to restore their fertility and get pregnant.
Fortunately, reversal of tubal ligation is possible, allowing women to conceive naturally.
Although tubal ligation reversal is possible, it is highly advisable to consider this method of sterilization only if you are sure you will never want another child.
Edited by Neelam Goswami on 25-02-2014.
