Laparoscopic treatment of ectopic pregnancies: a one hundred cases study

From June 1987 to December 1989, 100 ectopic pregnancies (93 patients) were operated on by laparoscopy. The different techniques included salpingostomy, salpingectomy and tubal expression. There were no intra-operative complications or unwanted laparotomy. Only one patient (1%), on the fourth post-operative day, underwent a laparotomy due to an occlusive syndrome. Six failures (9.5%), in cases of conservative treatment were observed including three (16.6%) after tubal expression. The length of operation and hospitalization is similar with regard to the different endoscopic procedures, and shorter than those observed after treatment by laparotomy. These results confirm that laparoscopic treatment of ectopic pregnancies is not only reliable but also significantly less expensive than treatment by means of classical surgery.