Tubal Reversal Surgeons Reverse Adiana Sterilization

Doctors at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center become the first to reverse tubal sterilization by the Adiana technique

October 9th, 2009 (Chapel Hill, NC) – Julia Smith, RN, Nurse Administrator at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, today announced the first successful tubal reversal procedure to repair the fallopian tubes in women who have undergone the Adiana method of tubal sterilization. This is the first pregnancy after Adiana reversal for the newly approved sterilization system.

Adiana sterilization was approved for use in the US by the FDA in July 2009. The procedure can be performed in a physician’s office and involves using radio frequency energy to remove cells in the lining of a small area of the fallopian tubes nearest the uterus. The device itself is then implanted in this prepared area. The Adiana system is similar to the Essure sterilization method in being a non-surgical female sterilization method which promotes scarring to create a tubal blockage.

Dr. Gary S. Berger and Dr. Charles Monteith performed the reversal during a one hour and ten minute tubal surgery procedure. The healthy fallopian tubes were separated from the blockage and tubal implantation was performed through a newly created opening in the back of the uterus. Since the Adiana and Essure sterilization methods involve a small segment of the narrowest part of the fallopian tube, long tubal segments remain after the reversal procedure which is a major factor in tubal reversal success rates. The pregnancy success rates can be found in the latest tubal reversal study available at http://press.tubal-reversal.net/2009/pregnancy-rates-by-age-and-tubal-ligation-method.html

Dr. Berger and Dr. Monteith performed the tubal reversal procedure on a 35-year old woman who underwent sterilization by the Adiana technique as part of an experimental trial to test the new sterilization procedure six years ago. Although she underwent tubal sterilization intending for the procedure to be permanent, the patient’s decision to reverse the procedure was promoted by the unexpected and sudden loss of a child.

Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is the only facility in the United States that specializes  in the practice of tubal reversal surgery and repair of blocked fallopian tubes. Patients travel from across the US and from abroad for surgery at the specialty facility with its highly trained and experienced surgeons and staff. Additional information regarding tubal reversal surgery, Adiana reversal and Essure reversal is available at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, including profiles for Dr. Berger and Dr. Monteith, can be found on the website at www.tubal-reversal.net.

Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Report 2009

Patient Population

The study population consisted of 5,046 women who underwent tubal reversal surgery from July 2000 through June 2008 at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center – the only medical facility exclusively for tubal ligation reversal – located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Where Patients Came From

The women came from throughout the United States and from 23 foreign countries. The following map shows the geographic distribution of the resident locations of the US patients.

Figure 1. Where Patients Came From For Tubal Reversal Surgery

Tubal Reversal Pregnancy Report 2009
Table Of Contents:

• Overview
• Study Method
• Patient Population – States (this page)
• Patient Population – Age and Tubal Ligation Procedures
• Pregnancy Rates by Age and Method
• Pregnancy Rates by Tubal Length
• Pregnancy Outcomes
• Tubal Reversal vs. IVF
• About Pregnancy Statistics

Pregnancy Rates At Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Julia Smith RN
August 11, 2009 (919) 656-8204

TUBAL REVERSAL SURGEONS REVERSE ESSURE PROCEDURE
Implantation technique allows for successful reversal of sterilization procedure

(CHAPEL HILL, NC) – Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, announces the successful completion of sterilization reversal of the Essure procedure, previously considered a permanent form of female birth control.

More than 115,000 women worldwide have undergone sterilization with the Essure device since 2002. The Essure procedure involves placing a small, flexible plug into each fallopian tube at the junction of the uterus and the tube. Once in place, over a 3-month period, scar tissue grows into the micro inserts blocking the tubes to prevent the sperm from fertilizing the egg. The permanent nature of the procedure is related to this scarring and the previous belief that tubal ligation reversal surgery would be impossible.

The procedure Dr. Gary Berger and Dr. Charles Monteith use to reverse the Essure method involves cutting the device out of the uterine muscle and then implanting the remaining fallopian tube segment into the uterine cavity through a new opening in the uterus. This procedure is called tubouterine implantation. The reason the Essure device is removed is that part of the metal spring projects into the uterine cavity. If a pregnancy were to occur with the device in place, this could be harmful to the pregnancy.

Since the Essure has only been available since 2002 – and most women who have had this sterilization procedure do not desire or seek reversal – there is currently not enough data on the outcomes of Essure reversal to provide pregnancy statistics. However, the tubal reversal surgeons at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center have performed the tubouterine implantation procedure hundreds of times for other situations and the success rate in those cases has been 25% -50% depending on the amount of healthy tube remaining and the age of the patient.

Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is the only facility in the United States that is limited specifically to the practice of tubal reversal surgery. Additional information regarding tubal reversal surgery at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, including profiles for Dr. Berger and Dr. Monteith, can be found on the website at www.tubal-reversal.net.

More about Reverse Essure Procedure

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Julia Smith RN
December 14, 2008 (919) 656-8204

TUBAL REVERSAL  CENTER  DOES ITS PART TO ADDRESS TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES
Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center lowers tubal surgery fees during the holiday season

(CHAPEL HILL, NC) – Julia Smith, RN, Nurse Administrator at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center, today announced company plans to address the impact of the economic downturn on health care costs. Plans include a significant reduction in tubal surgery fees over the next two months to allow couples to move forward with less financial and emotional stress to have surgical procedures that correct tubal blockage.

Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is dedicated to the practice of tubal ligation reversal surgery. Patients travel from across the United States and around the world for reconstructive tubal surgery with Dr. Gary Berger and Dr. Charles Monteith and the specialized procedure can carry a considerable price tag. However, with the reduced price structure, patients will be offered three fee options, Ms. Smith explained.

1) The standard fee is $6900. With this fee, patients can schedule an appointment and hold a date with a $250 down payment and the balance paid three weeks prior to the surgery date.

2) Between December 15, 2008 and February 1, 2009, surgery can be scheduled with Dr. Berger for a fee of $5400 or with Dr. Monteith for $4900. The discounted fees are due at the time a patient schedules the appointment and surgery must be performed no later than February 15, 2009.

The fees offered by Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center are all-inclusive and cover the doctors’ professional fees, the anesthesiologist’s fee, supplies, operating room charges and facility fees, initial consultation with the surgeon and follow-up by phone and e-mail. The company also offers a pre-payment plan for patients interested in long-term payment arrangements. With the pre-payment option, patients can pre-pay the surgical fee without interest prior to the surgery date. To utilize the option, a non-refundable $250 fee is paid to open an account and patients may then make payments of any amount as they are able – for as long as they wish. For discounted fees to apply, the balance must be paid in full prior to scheduling surgery.

“A woman’s natural fertility rate decreases as she ages, so it is best to move forward sooner rather than later when it comes to reproductive procedures,” Ms. Smith explains. “We hope our reduced fee options will allow women to proceed with surgery to restore their fertility without the added stress of waiting until the economy recovers.”

Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

More about Tubal Surgery

Contact Information:
Lisa Hourmouzis, RN
919.968.4656 office
252.339.2322 mobile
LisaH@tubal-reversal.net

New tubal reversal specialist joins Chapel Hill center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 21, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Dr. Gary S. Berger, medical director and world-renowned tubal reversal surgeon, welcomes Dr. Charles W. Monteith to the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center surgical team.

Dr. Monteith is the first tubal reversal surgeon to join the practice since the initial tubal reversal microsurgery performed by Dr. Berger in 1982.

Monteith began his fellowship training with the center in January 2008, and has assisted in more than 100 reversal procedures under the guidance of Dr. Berger.

According to Dr. Monteith, his plan is to keep tubal reversal surgery a viable option for women wanting to have children after tubal ligation surgery.

“My interest in becoming a tubal reversal surgeon began when I realized that tubal reversal surgery was gradually becoming less available to patients because of limited training opportunities for younger physicians,” said Monteith.

Dr. Monteith graduated summa cum laude from Xavier University in Louisiana. He attended medical school at the University of California at San Francisco where he received a Howard Hughes Medical Research Fellowship used to conduct research in molecular genetics.

After completing his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he accepted a clinical assistant professor position with the department of obstetrics and gynecology in 2001. He also served as assistant professor in obstetrics and gynecology at Wake Medical Hospital in Raleigh for seven years where he practiced high-risk obstetrics and advanced surgical gynecology.

Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is the only facility in the United States dedicated exclusively to tubal reversal surgery. Dr. Gary Berger has successfully performed over 7,000 tubal reversals using the one-hour outpatient microsurgical technique he developed and refined. His technique has been featured on The Learning Channel and Discovery Health.

###