Dr. Charles Monteith to Join Staff at Tubal Reversal Center

(Chapel Hill, NC) – Dr. Gary S. Berger, medical director of Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, announced today that Dr. Charles Monteith will join the staff at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center effective July 21, 2008.

Dr. Berger has been performing microsurgical tubal anastomosis and tubal implantation at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center since 1982. This is the first time that Dr. Berger has offered fellowship training in tubal reversal surgery.

Under the guidance of Dr. Berger, Dr. Monteith has been undergoing certification in tubal ligation reversal surgery since January 2008, and has assisted in more than 100 reversal procedures.

“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.

His desire to keep tubal reversal surgery as a viable option for women led him to leave a successful practice in obstetrics and gynecology to start a career in tubal ligation reversal.

Dr. Monteith attended college at Xavier University of Louisiana where he graduated summa cum laude. He attended medical school at the University of California at San Francisco where he received a Howard Hughes Medical Research Fellowship and conducted research in molecular genetics. After completing his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Monteith accepted a clinical assistant professor position with the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina in 2001.

He worked as an 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. Dr. Monteith spent a significant amount of time training both medical students and residents.

Dr. Monteith is currently operating with Dr. Berger and will be certified as a tubal reversal specialist once his fellowship is completed. Dr. Monteith is now scheduling patients for tubal reversal surgery beginning July 21 at a reduced introductory fee. During July and August, Dr. Berger will assist Dr. Monteith with his tubal reversal procedures. Dr. Berger says that by the time Dr. Monteith is operating on his own, he will be well qualified as an expert and will have participated in more tubal reversal procedures than most other specialists may see in a lifetime of practice.

Dr. Monteith said, “I look forward to a successful career in tubal reversal surgery. It is with special gratitude that I thank Dr. Berger and the staff at the Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center for accepting me with open arms and training me in both the science and art of tubal ligation reversal.”

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 Web site at www.tubal-reversal.net.

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Julia Smith, RN
Nurse Administrator
Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center
JuliaS@tubal-reversal.net
Phone: (919) 656-8204

References:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/108058.php
http://www.tubal-reversal.net/doctor-monteith.htm

Nearly 500,00 women undergo tubal ligation surgery in the United States every year. Of those women, as many as one-fourth will change their mind and desire more children after tubal ligation leading to questions about the possibility of tubal reversal surgery.

The most common question women have as they research the option of tubal reversal surgery is whether the surgery will be successful. The success of the surgery depends on several factors, including a woman’s age, the type of sterilization, and the length of tube remaining after the reversal procedure. One way to determine the outcome of the reversal surgery is through a review of the operative report from the tubal ligation. Based on this information, the tubal reversal surgeon is able to make an interpretation regarding the type of sterilization a woman has had and estimate the amount of tube that may have been damaged during the procedure. Tubal reversal specialist, Dr. Gary Berger, is a reproductive surgeon who limits his practice to tubal reversal surgery. Two-thirds of Dr. Berger’s patients become pregnant in an average of 10 months after their reversal procedure.

Another priority issue is tubal reversal cost. One reason for the increased costs quoted by some facilities is the lengthy operating time due to lack of experience with the procedure. This often means that the woman is hospitalized for several days, with significant added costs as a result. Dr. Berger has developed a low-cost, outpatient reversal procedure that has resulted in the most tubal reversal babies born worldwide. With short operating times (approximately one hour) and no overnight hospital stay required, tubal reversal cost is kept to a minimum. Dr. Berger also offers an all-inclusive fee for the reversal procedure, there are no unexpected or “hidden” costs.

Potential reversal patients often ask whether the length of time since the tubal ligation will affect the outcome of the surgery and, fortunately, the answer is no. The damage that is done to the tubes at the time of the sterilization does not worsen over time, so the length of time since the tubal ligation does not specifically affect pregnancy rates. However, age does play a factor so pregnancy rates should be viewed by age if a number of years have passed before tubal reversal surgery is performed. Fortunately, women age 40 – 42 have pregnancy rates of approximately 50% following surgery with Dr. Berger at Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center.

Recovery times can vary greatly between doctors and facilities, and this issue is usually mentioned as an important factor in choosing a doctor for surgery. Although everyone recovers at a different rate, most of Dr. Berger’s patients return to work in 5 – 7 days following surgery and are back to the majority of their usual activities within 7 – 10 days. Tubal reversal performed by Dr. Berger usually takes less than an hour. Minimizing operating time is important, since longer anesthesia and surgery times are associated with increased complication rates and recovery from surgery. Compare this to the standard approach for tubal reversal surgery where operating times of 3 – 4 hours can result in hospitalization for several days, a recovery period of 4 - 6 weeks, and unnecessary hospitalization costs.

Dr. Berger’s successful and safe reversal procedure has been featured on television on The Discovery and Learning Channels. Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center is a medical facility exclusively for tubal ligation reversal. Dr. Gary Berger is recognized as the tubal reversal doctor with the most experience with this procedure. Although tubal reversal is not right for everyone, Dr. Berger can repair the fallopian tubes in 98% of women who have had a tubal ligation and want to have another baby. These are two of the many reasons why women come from all over the US and abroad to have Dr. Berger perform their tubal ligation reversals.