Female voluntary surgical contraception via minilaparotomy under local anesthesia.
OBJECTIVE
To examine changes in prevalence and acceptance of sterilization methods in a developing country from 1986 to 1990.


METHODS
Data from 5182 voluntary female sterilizations performed at 52 service sites in Nigeria were retrospectively reviewed for sterilization method, anesthesia technique, demographic factors, and patient acceptance.


RESULTS
The annual number of sterilization procedures increased dramatically over this period from 688 in 1986 to 1911 in 1989. Overall, 74.3% of the procedures were performed by minilaparotomy under local anesthesia (ML/LA), 6% by laparoscopy/general anesthesia, and 19.7% by laparatomy/general anesthesia. ML/LA was found to be a very safe method, with a complication rate of 1.4%. 98.6% of ML/LA patients expressed complete satisfaction with the procedure.


CONCLUSIONS
Female sterilization increased in acceptance in Nigeria over the period 1986-1990 concomitant with the increased use of ML/LA. This approach is safe, cost-effective, and appropriate for the developing world.
School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY.
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Jack
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Chao
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000772:Anesthesia, Local; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007813:Laparotomy; D009549:Nigeria; D010298:Parity; D013246:Sterilization, Tubal / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*