Proximal tubal occlusion: microsurgery versus IVF--a review

The success of IVF has established it as a viable alternative to microsurgery in the treatment of infertility associated with certain types of tubal occlusion. The authors have recently reported on the success rates of microsurgery versus IVF in cases of distal tubal occlusion. The present study summarizes the results reported in the world literature for microsurgery in cases of proximal tubal occlusion secondary to surgical sterilization, previous infection, or endometriosis, and compares them with the results reported for IVF. Based on what has been published to date, it appears that microsurgical tubocornual anastomosis remains the procedure of choice for proximal tubal occlusion.