May 29, 2007 By Martha A. Simpson, D.O. Professor Of Family Medicine 3 min read

Question: My husband and I have decided that we don’t want any more children. He does not want to get a vasectomy, so I was thinking of getting my tubes tied. My friend told me there is another procedure, like having your tubes tied, but without the surgery. Can you tell me about that as well as about having my tubes tied? Which one works the best? Answer: One of the primary things to understand about having your tubes tied or non-surgically obstructed is that this is not reversible. You cannot change your mind and have this undone. It is permanent.

With that in mind, there are currently three methods of permanent sterilization for women. The first is a hysterectomy. This is not performed as a means of sterilization, but it does make it impossible for a woman to bear any more children. The other two are tubal ligation (getting your tubes tied) and tubal plugging.

Tubal ligation is a surgical method of cutting and tying, burning or banding the fallopian tubes so the woman’s egg can not pass to be fertilized. This procedure involves general anesthesia and is done with a scope through the navel (belly button). The recovery is fast, usually two or three days. There is minimal pain, and the scar is very tiny.

Many women have this one while still in the hospital after having a baby. If done at other times, the woman may have the procedure done on Thursday or Friday and be back to work on Monday, assuming her job is not too strenuous.

The newer method, as I mentioned, involves tubal obstruction rather than tubal cutting and is considered a non-surgical procedure.

While there is still light anesthesia, a catheter is threaded through the uterus into the fallopian tube opening inside the uterus. A spring-like coil, called a micro-insert, is placed in the fallopian tube.

Over a period of about three months, your body develops scar tissue around the coil that becomes a barrier inside the fallopian tube. Until this tissue forms and completely blocks the fallopian tube you could still become pregnant.

This is why you need a follow-up exam with the tubal blockage procedure that’s not normally required after a tubal ligation. About three months after the coils are placed, your doctor will want to do a procedure called a hysterosalpingogram. This in not as complicated as the name might imply.

It is simply a special X-ray where dye is put into the fallopian tubes to be sure they are completely plugged up. Once this is confirmed, you can have the same degree of confidence that you would with a tubal ligation.

Statistics show that both of these procedures are more than 99 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.

I suggest you talk with your family physician or ob/gyn doctor about your options. While the tubal blockage procedure is not as widely available as tubal ligation, it is becoming more common.

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Family Medicine is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to Martha A. Simpson, D.O., M.B.A., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, P.O. Box 110, Athens, Ohio 45701, or via e-mail to begin readerquestions@familymedicinenews.org readerquestions@familymedicinenews.org end

. Medical information in this column is provided as an educational service only.

It does not replace the judgment of your personal physician, who should be relied on to diagnose and recommend treatment for any medical conditions.

Past columns are available online at www.familymedicinenews.org.