title: Factors affecting the pregnancy rate after microsurgical reversal of tubal ligation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the factors affecting the pregnancy rate after microsurgical reversal of tubal ligation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Private practice affiliated with a tertiary care center. One hundred twenty-eight consecutive patients who underwent tubal reversal between October 1992 and May 2001.
  
  
  METHODS
  Microsurgical tubal reanastomosis performed by a single surgeon.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subsequent pregnancy rates were evaluated with Fisher's exact tests and logistic regression according to clinical characteristics of patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pregnancy rate was 85.7% (54 out of 63) in patients <or=35 years of age vs. 45.5% (10 out of 22) in patients >35 years. The odds ratio (OR) between the two age groups was 7.20, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 2.41 to 21.55. The pregnancy rate was 85.4% (35 out of 41) in patients with body mass index (BMI) <or=25 compared with 65.9% (29 out of 44) in patients with BMI >25 (OR 3.02; CI 1.04 to 8.77). Patients sterilized <or=8 years had a pregnancy rate of 87.2% (34 out of 39), vs. 65.2% (30 out of 46) in patients sterilized >8 years (OR 3.63; CI 1.19 to 11.09).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Age was the primary statistically significant factor affecting pregnancy rate in tubal reversal patients. Body mass index and duration of sterilization had smaller, but statistically significant, associations with pregnancy rate.
authors.affiliation: Saint Joseph's Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia 30342, USA. mhanafi@aol.com
authors.forename: Magdi M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Hanafi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D013243:Sterilization Reversal; D013246:Sterilization, Tubal; D013997:Time Factors