Female Sterilisation - Tubal LIgation

stauntj

Hi there,

I'm asking this question on behalf of my wife. She had two kids and both by c section. She was told not to have anymore kids as there was a lot of internal scarring, especially from the first one which seemed to be a botched job.

As contraceptives she tried a few different things but settled on the copper coil and it was working a treat bar slightly heavier periods and having to watch for low iron. she was at her happiest with this but protection rate still wasnt perfect.

The protection rate is something like 97 to 98%, whereas tubal ligation is 99%+. So she wanted to be more certain and opted for tubal ligation.

She was told they would make one small incision to seal or tie tubes and she would be in and out on the same day. That didnt happen though, it took 3 days for her to get out of hospital and it wasnt one incision, there were 5.

The surgeon said they found it hard to find her womb as it was up higher than it should be and also abdominal fat made it harder to find.

Does this sound right to you? Im honestly pissed off for her, I watched her recover from two c sections already and that was tough. The whole point was this surgery was small with a quick recovery.

My other half is overweight, (70kgs/11st at 5ft 2.) technically obese by BMI at 30 but still, cant find her womb?

I find it hard to believe doc had to make 5 incisions, Im considering medical negligence here. I mean how the **** can you not find a womb with all the medical technology they have now?

Id appreciate any input or experience you might have.

Neyite

Internal organs can move around, or it could be pushed out of the way or obstructed by the bowel. They weren't trying to find her womb. They were trying to find her tubes which are much smaller than the womb (which is usually the size of a fist and therefore small enough to begin with) So to me it does sound fairly plausible that they had difficulty finding the fallopian tubes.

The hospital might offer her a review of her notes if she asks - she might be able to sit down with a medic and go through the notes and ask why things happened a certain way.

It might be jumping the gun to think there was any negligence involved but there is no harm in her finding out what actually happened and seeing if there were any issues. However, when you say this:

Im considering medical negligence here.

It's not actually your decision to investigate this - it's your wife's. Doctors are bound by strict confidentiality and are not obliged to discuss anything with a spouse.

pwurple

Usually vasectomy is considered a less invasive procedure than tubal ligation. I don't see that in your list of options above. When you combine methods (coil & vasectomy for example) you increase the protection rate.

And to answer your question, a uterus is about the size of a tennis ball, and the ovaries are pea-sized.

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stauntj

stauntj wrote: »

She was told they would make one small incision to seal or tie tubes and she would be in and out on the same day. That didnt happen though, it took 3 days for her to get out of hospital and it wasnt one incision, there were 5.

The surgeon said they found it hard to find her womb as it was up higher than it should be and also abdominal fat made it harder to find.

I mean how the **** can you not find a womb with all the medical technology they have now?

Keyhole surgery, yes? You don't appear to have read up on the procedure so I recommend you do so. This is a teeny-tiny camera on the end of a fibre optic cable, it is NOT easy to find something small, particularly with a lot of fat or if things aren't where you would normally expect to find them.

I've seen my insides and ain't nothin' the size of a fallopian tube being found easily in there! :pac:

The doctor's explanation of what happened during your wife's procedure sounds completely adequate.

eviltwin

I considered getting my tubes tied but it seems like a lot to go through when vasectomy is a much better option. Unless there is a medical reason why it's not possible would you consider that? It sounds like another pregnancy could be harmful to her health and her body has already been through a lot.

Wibbs

eviltwin wrote: »

I considered getting my tubes tied but it seems like a lot to go through when vasectomy is a much better option.

+1. If I was in that position no way would I be happy about a partner going through a more invasive procedure(with more risk of side effects), when vasectomy is relatively simple, with a generally faster recovery rate. A couple of mates of mine have had it done and reckoned it was an easy op(and one is even more nervous of medical stuff than me and could imagine symptoms for Ireland).