Four-year follow-up of electrocoagulation and tubal ring sterilizations in Costa Rica

Abstract

An earlier analysis of 299 laparoscopic sterilizations comparing electrocoagulation and tubal ring occlusion techniques found no significant differences in rates of surgical complications. The risk of potentially serious complications, such as bowel/bladder burns, was considered higher with electrocoagulation be the preferred technique. Examination of the same women through 48 months poststerilization between the two techniques with respect to the incidence of gynecologic surgery performed subsequent to sterilization. Gynecologic abnormalities were similar for women in both groups. The rate of pregnancy was higher for tubal rings than for electrocoagulation (2.1 compared to 0.7 at 48 months) but this difference was not statistically significant.

PIP: An earlier analysis of 299 laparoscopic sterilizations comparing electrocoagulation and tubal ring occlusion techniques found no significant differences in rates of surgical complications. The risk of potentially serious complications, such as bowel/bladder burns, was considered higher with electrocoagulation suggesting that tubal rings might be the preferred technique. Examination of the same women 48 months posterilization showed no signficant difference between the 2 techniques with respect to the incidence of gynecologic surgery performed subsequent to sterilization. Gynecologic abnormalities were similar for women in both groups. The rate of pregnancy was higher for tubal rings than for electrocoagulaton (2.1 compared to 0.7 at 48 months) but this difference was not statistically significant. 151 women (50.5%) underwent sterilization by electrocoagulation; 148 women (49.5%) were sterilized using the tubal ring occlusion technique. All procedures were single incision laparoscopies.