Outcome and effect of medical intervention in women experiencing infertility following removal of an ectopic pregnancy

The outcome of pregnancy and the effect of medical intervention were reviewed in patients who had had a previous ectopic pregnancy and a subsequent history of infertility. The case records of 3.650 patients were reviewed. Seventy met the study criteria. Twenty patients either voluntarily withdrew or were discouraged on medical grounds; one conceived. Five of the remainder of the patients conceived prior to laparoscopy. In the other 45 patients, the remaining tube was normal in 13, irreparable in 16, and suitable for surgical repair in 16. To date, among the original patients, there have been 13 live births (18.5%) and two ectopic pregnancies (2.8%). One patient was delivered of a live-born infant subsequent to surgical intervention. The pregnancy outcome in this group of patients is poor. Medical intervention was useful primarily in ruling out other causes of infertility and to provide advice to the couple on future fertility. Medical intervention altered outcome in a very few cases.