FOLLOW-UP OF WOMEN SEEKING STERILIZATION REVERSAL - A BRAZILIAN EXPERIENCE

Objective: To analyze the follow-up of a cohort of women who requested reversal of surgical sterilization. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out at the State University of Campinas, Brazil. A cohort of 394 women who requested sterilization reversal was followed up for one year after reversal surgery. The analysis includes the percentage of women who completed the steps between the initial consultation up to one year after reversal surgery. Results: After an initial consulta tion, 55.1% of the patients decided not to continue with the procedure s. Of the patients who did undergo laparoscopy (n = 177), 48.6% had no possibility of a successful surgical reversal because the Fallopian t ubes were in very poor condition. Only 17.5% of the initial patients r equesting reversal ultimately underwent surgery and 3.3% became pregna nt. Conclusions: The analysis of regret about surgical sterilization s hould include not only women who undergo surgery but also women reques ting surgery. Better patient selection and counseling prior to sterili zation are necessary in order to prevent increasing rates of steriliza tion regret in Brazil.