Can tubal ligation be reversed?

Tubal ligation is a permanent method of family planning where the fallopian tubes are tied, cut or blocked

In 2018, I underwent tubal ligation after giving birth to five children. However, I separated with my husband and immediately got a new man with whom I want to have children. Can the procedure be reversed? Munusa

Dear Munusa, 
Tubal ligation is a permanent method of family planning where the fallopian tubes are tied, cut or blocked. As such, one requires proper counselling before it is done to minimise the need for its reversal, which is not only expensive but may also be impossible to achieve in some cases.

However, even with counselling, some circumstances such as changing a husband, improved finances or even loss of offspring among others, a woman may still need to give birth again, hence requiring a reversal. 
 Locally known as “tube tying” the success of its reversal mostly depends on the type of ligation that was done, a woman’s fertility, which may depend on her present age or her health including presence of obesity among others and on the man’s own fertility.

A woman older than 35 years may have other fertility issues and if obese, this also works against successful reversal. In case tubal litigation was done with clips or rings, this is most likely to be successful but when a big length of the tube was cut off, this may spell reversal doom.

Unfortunately, even when the reversal ends in patent tubes, pregnancy may not always be possible and even when it happens, this may lead to tubal pregnancy in some cases. When reversal is not successful but the womb is able to carry a baby, then artificial methods to make one pregnant (such as IVF) can be used.