ABSTRACT
With reference to a case of pregnancy of a patient formerly subjected to tubal sterilization using Pomeroy's technique, the authors define the possibility for tubal stumps to recanalise. Despite the low percentage of failure in tubal sterilization using Pomeroy's technique, the authors conclude that it is advisable to make the earliest possible diagnosis of both intrauterine and extrauterine pregnancy on the basis of suspected symptoms in order to, especially for tubal pregnancies, avoid any tubal sterilization.
PIP: The Pomeroy technique of tubal sterilization is widely used and considered highly effective. Reported in this paper is a case of a pregnancy in a woman from Naples, Italy, who underwent this procedure. The patient requested sterilization during her third cesarean section delivery in 1992 and tubal occlusion was confirmed by a hysterosalpingograph conducted 3 months later. When the patient presented 19 months later with a missed period, an intrauterine pregnancy was found. During the subsequent cesarean section delivery, bilateral tubal exploration revealed that some tubal residual products from the sterilization were still bound by the thread and the stumps graphing. It was assumed that recanalization of the two stumps below the tubal binding was responsible for the conception. A new sterilization was performed after removal of the stumps by the Pomeroy technique 0.5 cm below the canalization.
