Family Life

07.04.12 | Sarah Harnisch

About one million women undergo a tubal ligation every year, ending the chance of having a baby. But new technology increases the chances of successfully having the procedure reversed. Some 10% of women will change their mind and many of them will have surgery to reverse the procedure. A new york surgeon is among a handful doing a new, minimally invasive reversal procedure. Dr. Nicholas Montalto, Director of Robotic Surgery at Ellis Hospital, says he's doing the reversal with the assistance of robotic surgical technology. Dr. Montalto says robot assisted tubal reversal gives surgeons an excellent 3 dimensional view and zooms into the fallopian tube. The wrists on the robotic arms, which are controlled through a console, flex further than human hands - allow greater control over the delicate procedure. He also says patients recover in about a third of the time it takes recouperate from open surgery, which also reduces the risk of infection.