Objective: To evaluate the intra-operative complications of outpatient interval tubal sterilization at a teaching hospital.
Methods: The data of 461 patients who underwent interval tubal ligation (ITL) at the Family Planning Clinic of Ankara Etlik Maternity and Women's Health Teaching and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey between January 2002 and December 2005 were reviewed from a computerized database. The demographic characteristics, operative technique, and intra- and early postoperative complications of patients were evaluated. Only 11 patients had minilaparotomy for ITL. Laparoscopic ITL was performed using bipolar cautery. The cases who were hospitalized or who had a complication and/or an unplanned laparotomy were analyzed.
Results: The mean age of patients was 35.1 (range: 21-51), gravidity was 4.6 (range: 2-9), parity was 3.2 (range: 2-7), and number of living children was 3.1 (range: 2-6). Out of 461 patients, only 2 (0.4%) had complications related with general anesthesia. Two cases (0.4%) had bleeding from the port-site, 3 cases (0.6%) had meso-salpingeal and meso-ovarian bleeding, one had omental bleeding (0.2%) and one case had bleeding (0.2%) from the vaginal wall. There was only one (0.2%) intestinal burn that required a laparotomy and segmental resection followed by end-to-end anastomosis. The mortality was nil, whilst the morbidity was found to be 2.1%, and all the complications were encountered in patients who had laparoscopic surgery.
Conclusion: Outpatient tubal ligation is a convenient and safe procedure, and implementing endoscopic surgical techniques is necessary for correction of the complications.