Methods for Having Your Tubes Tied

Tubal Ligation Information

Tubal ligation, also known as having one’s tubes tied, is a permanent birth control that blocks sperm from reaching the fallopian tubes to meet an egg.

Today, tubal ligation is often done as an outpatient surgery. This means that you will go home the same day the surgery is performed. Surgery can also be done at the hospital right after you have given birth (often referred to as post-partum ligation) or you can return at a later date to have the procedure done.

If you have decided this is the form of birth control for you, you need to be positive that you do not want children or do not want any more children. While you can attempt a tubal reversal, it is not a guarantee of pregnancy. Women who change their minds and want to have children may find they need in vitro fertilization to conceive.

Methods for Having Your Tubes Tied

After making an informed decision about having your tubes tied, you will want to discuss the various methods with your doctor. Permanent birth control methods you may consider include:

• Pomeroy Tubal Ligation: doctors using this method tie off a section of the fallopian tubes and cut off the area above the tie (although burning is sometimes used). Eventually the two sections will heal separated from each other.
• Spring Clips and Bands/Rings: Two types of clips can be used for tubal ligation. The first is a small clamp, which shuts over a fallopian tube with a spring. The second is a rounded one that clamps down on the tube to keep it closed. Bands are usually placed over a looped fold in the tube.
• Bipolar Coagulation: Using electrical currents passing through forceps, the fallopian tube is damaged on both sides of where the tube was gripped.
• Parkland Tubal Ligation: This involves cutting off a portion of the fallopian tube. It is often viewed as a modification of the Pomeroy Technique.
• Irving and Uchida Tubal Ligations: Taking off a portion of the tube and then turning the remaining part into the surface of the uterus or the area above the ovary.

The method you choose for having your tubes tied will have direct bearing on how successful a possible tubal reversal could be in the future. If there is any possibility you would change your mind, a clip or band is often the easiest type of tubal sterilization methods to reverse.

The methods listed above are more involved than the simplified explanation given. For more detailed information, speak with your primary care physician.

Essure: A New Alternative

An alternative method to tubal ligation has appeared on the marketplace in the last few years. Sold under the brand name Essure, it eliminates the surgical procedure while giving a woman the same sterilization benefits as having tubes tied.

Essure is a small insert placed into fallopian tubes. Scar tissue then forms around the inserts, effectively blocking the sperm from reaching an egg. Instead of requiring surgery for implantation, the tubes are accessed through the vagina.

A secondary method of birth control must be used for three months or until an x-ray or ultrasound can confirm the placement of the insert and that scar tissue has effectively built up around it. Effectiveness of Essure is comparable to surgical tubal ligation procedures.

For women who are done having children or do not want any at all, using one of the methods of having your tubes tied listed above can provide a hassle-free permanent birth control. Be sure to weigh the pros and cons of each type of tubal ligation and discuss potential side effects of getting your tubes tied with your healthcare practitioner.