Tubal ligation via colpotomy or laparoscopy: A retrospective comparative study

Objective: To compare transvaginal with laparoscopic tubal sterilization with respect to invasiveness and outcomes. Method: The outcomes of 103 patients who received interval tubal sterilization were compared. Group A (n = 38) underwent the transvaginal approach, group B (n = 38) a laparoscopic approach, and group C (n = 27) underwent mini-laparotomy due to difficulties encountered in one of the other procedures. Results: There were no significant differences in patient age between the groups. There was no significant difference in operative time or blood loss between groups A and B. Operative time was significantly longer in group C (120 ± 35 min) than group A (40 ± 5 min) or group B (45 ± 9 min) (p <0.05). Blood loss was significantly greater in group C (120 ± 30 ml) than in group A (10 ± 2 ml) or group B (10 ± 1 ml) (p <0.05). The cost of transvaginal tubal sterilization was the lowest, and that of mini-laparotomy was the highest. There was no contraception failure in any group. Conclusions: Transvaginal tubal sterilization is technically more difficult, but when correctly performed it is not associated with an increased complication rate, and is less costly than laparoscopic sterilization.