[Laparoscopic sterilization of women by electrocoagulation. A 5-year material]

A retrospective questionnaire investigation was undertaken involving 253 women who had been sterilized by electrocoagulation in a small department of general surgery during a five-year period. This revealed a frequency of pregnancy of 1.6% following a total period of observation averaging 42 months. The average age of the women in this material was 35.8 years and these had, on an average, 2.8 children. 4.0% regretted the intervention. The majority of the women (97.0%) would choose laparoscopic sterilization as the method of contraception today, if they should choose again. The per- and postoperative frequency of complications was 4.3%. The operating time was 33.8 minutes on an average and the duration of postoperative hospitalization was 1.5 days on an average. On a average, the patients felt well after 7.9 days and they resumed sexual activities after an average of 16.7 days. The conclusion of this investigation is that laparoscopic sterilization by electrocoagulation carried out by an experienced surgeon in a small department for general surgery is a safe and cheap method of sterilization which is reasonably free from complications for the patients.