Interval out-patient female sterilization in Lagos

Area of Science:

• Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Family Planning
• Surgical Procedures

Background:

• The Family Planning Clinic of the College of Medicine, Lagos, introduced out-patient sterilization services in 1981.
• This review covers the initial five years of these services, analyzing patient demographics and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the safety and efficacy of out-patient interval sterilization.
• To compare out-patient sterilization outcomes with puerperal sterilization.

Main Methods:

• Review of 96 out-patient interval sterilizations (47 laparoscopic, 49 minilaparotomy) over five years.
• Analysis of patient age, parity, previous contraception use, and concurrent procedures.
• Assessment of complication rates, failure rates, and requests for reversal.

Main Results:

• Out-patient sterilization represented 0.7% of maternities.
• The major complication rate was 3.1%, with a 1% failure rate.
• 12.5% of procedures included pregnancy termination, often due to contraceptive failure.

Conclusions:

• Out-patient sterilization is a viable option with acceptable complication and failure rates.
• No requests for reversal were reported, indicating patient satisfaction.
• Out-patient sterilization rates were lower than puerperal sterilization rates (2% of maternities).