Female Sterilization via Laparoscopy

Madrigal, V., Edelman, D. A., Goldsmith, A. & Brenner, Wm. E. (Asociación Demográfica Salvadoreña, San Salvador, El Salvador, International Fertility Research Program, Chapel Hill, N. C., and the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, N. C., USA). Female sterilization via laparoscopy: A long‐term follow‐up study . Int J Gynaecol Obstet 13 : 268–272, 1975. While interval female sterilization via laparoscopy appears to be a safe and effective procedure, long‐term follow‐up studies of this method have not been reported. To determine the incidence of gynecological abnormalities and failure after laparoscopic sterilization with electrocoagulation and division of the tubes, pertinent data were analyzed from 635 consecutive patients sterilized by this technique at the Asociación Demográfica Salvadoreña, El Salvador, in 1972–73. Of these patients, 86.2% have been seen for at least one follow‐up examination 4–31 months post‐sterilization. Significant gynecological abnormalities occurred in 2.4% of the cases within 4 to 8 months, in 3.0% of the cases within 15 to 21 months, and in 1.4% of the cases within 22 to 31 months of sterilization. Some changes in menstrual cycle function were noted. There was an increase over time in the proportion of patients who developed irregular menstrual cycles and dysmenorrhea. The failure rate of the procedure was 0.7%. Laparoscopic sterilization with electrocoagulation of the tubes appears to result in clinically acceptable rates of long‐term complications. To adequately evaluate the long‐term sequelae of sterilization, appropriate, long‐term comparative studies of various methods and techniques of tubal occlusion, including hysterectomy, will have to be conducted.