For a study, researchers wanted to compare the surgical results of postpartum salpingectomy and tubal ligation following vaginal birth. Using the electronic medical record, the retrospective cohort analysis identified patients who had tubal sterilization at a big university hospital between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2019. During their delivery hospitalizations, all patients who delivered vaginally and had tubal sterilization were included. The major goal was to reduce overall operative time. Estimated blood loss, surgical complications, and readmission within 6 weeks postpartum were all secondary outcomes. Using Pearson’s 2 test, Fisher exact, and Student’s t-test, patients who had bilateral tubal ligation were compared to those who received bilateral salpingectomy.
A total of 317 patients were found to be eligible. A bipolar electrocautery device was used to accomplish 186 (94%) of the salpingectomies. The salpingectomy group had a 3 minute lower operating time, 30 minutes (interquartile range 24–38) compared to 33.5 (26–42) minutes, P=.032. Salpingectomy patients were more likely to have estimated blood loss of 5 mL or less (our institutional shorthand for little blood loss) than women who had a bilateral tubal ligation (78 [69%] vs 112 [55%], P=.015). In terms of perioperative problems, there were no notable differences between the groups.
Bilateral salpingectomy can be accomplished in the early postpartum period following vaginal birth using electrocautery, with operation timeframes comparable to bilateral tubal ligation.
