Tubal infertility treatment for younger women

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Tubal infertility treatment for younger women

If you are in your 20s or early 30s and have not been able to conceive because of fallopian tube damage, time is on your side. Generally speaking, the younger a woman is, the lower her risk of miscarriage and the more plentiful her reserve of viable eggs.

Your chances of becoming pregnant after tubal infertility surgery are higher now than they will be ten years from now. If your doctor tells you that you have at least one treatment option, you have time to try them in a stepwise fashion. The most common approach is to have tubal surgery, take time to conceive afterwards, and reserve in vitro fertilization (IVF) for later on as a last resort. Your choices are:

• Have a tubal procedure or surgery. The advantage of successful tubal repair is that you can potentially conceive more than one pregnancy without any further infertility treatment. Treatment success depends on a combination of what type of tubal problem you have and your age. Tubal procedures are available for women who have:
  • Severe tubal disease or combined blockages in one tube.
  • Tubal blockage located close to the uterus.
  • Tubal blockage located close to the ovary.
• In vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is typically recommended for women with severe tubal damage that has little chance of successful surgical repair, for women who haven't conceived for 12 to 18 months after having a tubal surgery, and for women over age 35 who don't want to postpone trying to become pregnant.

Credits

Last updated:	March 21, 2008
Author:	Sandy Jocoy, RN
Reviewed By:	Sarah Marshall, MD - Family Medicine, Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
Editors:	Kathleen M. Ariss, MS, Pat Truman, MATC