Surgical Technique The procedure usually elected for tubal sterilization by laparotomy is the Pomeroy or modified Pomeroy technique (Fig. 10.10). In the classic Pomeroy procedure, a loop of tube is excised after ligating the base of the loop with a single absorbable suture. A modification of the procedure is excision of the midportion of the tube after ligation of the segment with two separate absorbable sutures. This modified procedure has several names: partial salpingectomy, Parkland Hospital technique, separate sutures technique, and modified Pomeroy. In the Madlener technique, now abandoned because of too many failures, a loop of tube is crushed by cross-clamping its base, ligated with permanent suture, and then excised. Pomeroy and partial salpingectomy procedures have failure rates of 1 to 4 per 1,000 cases (281). In contrast, pregnancy is almost unheard of after tubal sterilization by the Irving or Uchida methods. In the Irving method, the midportion of the tube is excised, and the proximal stump of each tube is turned back and led into a small stab wound in the wall of the uterus and sutured in place, creating a blind loop. With the Uchida method, a saline-epinephrine solution (1:1,000) is injected beneath the mucosa of the midportion of the tube, separating the mucosa from the underlying tube. The mucosa is incised along the antimesenteric border of the tube, and a tubal segment is excised under traction so that the ligated proximal stump will retract beneath the mucosa when released. The mucosa is then closed with sutures, burying the proximal stump and separating it from the distal stump. In Uchida’s personal series of more than 20,000 cases, there were no pregnancies (282).
Laparoscopy Laparoscopy is the most common method of interval sterilization in the United States. In the standard laparoscopy technique, the abdomen is inﬂated with a gas (carbon dioxide) through a special needle inserted at the lower margin of the umbilicus (281). A hollow sheath containing a pointed trocar is then pushed through the abdominal wall at the same location, the trocar is removed, and the laparoscope is inserted into the abdominal cavity through the sheath to visualize the pelvic organs. A second, smaller trocar is inserted in the suprapubic region to allow the insertion of special grasping forceps. Alternatively, an operating laparoscope that has a channel for the instruments can be used; thus, the procedure can be performed through a single small incision. Laparoscopic sterilization is usually performed in the hospital under general anesthesia but can be performed under local anesthesia with conscious sedation. Overnight hospitalization for laparoscopy is rarely needed.
Open Laparoscopy Standard laparoscopy carries with it a small but definite risk for injury to major blood vessels with insertion of the sharp trocar. With the alternative technique of open laparoscopy, neither needle nor sharp trocar is used; instead, the peritoneal cavity is opened directly through an incision at the lower edge of the umbilicus. A special funnel-shaped sleeve, the Hassan cannula, is inserted, and the laparoscope is introduced through it.
Techniques for Tubal Closure at Laparoscopy Sterilization is accomplished by any of four techniques: bipolar electrical coagulation, application of a small Silastic rubber band (Falope ring), the plastic and metal Hulka clip, or the Filshie clip. The Filshie clip, first introduced into the United States in 1996 is used extensively in the United Kingdom and Canada (283). It is a hinged device made of titanium with a liner of silicone rubber tubing. Because of its lower pregnancy rate, the Filshie clip has largely supplanted the Hulka clip (284).