Laparoscopic and minilaparotomy female sterilisation compared in 15 167 cases

Three methods of female sterilisation were compared in data from 23 countries: laparoscopy with occlusion by the tubal ring (7053 cases), minilaparotomy with occlusion by the tubal ring (3033 cases), and minilaparotomy with occlusion by the modified Pomeroy technique (5081 cases). The 12-month failure rate was 0.60 per 100 women for laparoscopy/ring and 0.30 per 100 women for minilaparotomy/Pomeroy. The surgical complication rate for laparoscopy/ring (2.04%) was more than twice that for minilaparotomy/Pomeroy (0.79%). The technical failure rate of minilaparotomy/Pomeroy was twice that of laparoscopy/ring, but the complication and method-failure rates were much lower. Failure and complication rates with minilaparotomy/ring were intermediate. For many women seeking sterilisation, a minilaparotomy procedure will be preferable to a laparoscopy procedure.