Salpingectomy
Schematic frontal view of female anatomy
ICD-9-CM	66.4
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Salpingectomy refers to the surgical removal of a Fallopian tube.

Indications

The procedure was first performed by Lawson Tait in patients with a bleeding ectopic pregnancy; this procedure has since saved the lives of countless women. Other indications for a salpingectomy include infected tubes, (as in a hydrosalpinx) or as part of the surgical procedure for tubal cancer.

A bilateral salpingectomy will lead to sterility, and was used for that purpose, however less invasive procedures have become available as tubal occlusion procedures.

Process

Salpingectomy has traditionally been done via a laparotomy; more recently however, laparoscopic salpingectomies have become more common as part of minimally invasive surgery.

Related procedures

Salpingo-oophorectomy

Salpingectomy is commonly done as part of a procedure called a salpingo-oophorectomy, where one or both ovaries, as well as one or both Fallopian tubes, are removed in one operation (a Bilateral Salpingo-Oophorectomy (BSO) if both ovaries and Fallopian tubes are removed). If a BSO is combined with a hysterectomy, the procedure is commonly called a TAH-BSO: Total Abdominal Hysterectomy with a Bilateral Salpingo-Oophorectomy.

Salpingostomy

Salpingectomy is different from a salpingostomy, a procedure where an opening is made into the tube to remove the ectopic embryo, but the tube itself is not removed.^[1]

History

Salpingectomies were performed in the United States in the 20th century in accordance with eugenics legislation. From Buck v. Bell:

The Virginia statute providing for the sexual sterilization of inmates of institutions supported by the State who shall be found to be afflicted with an hereditary form of insanity or imbecility, is within the power of the State under the Fourteenth Amendment.^[2]

The Supreme Court has since held that the right to procreate is a fundamental right. (Skinner v. Oklahoma, 316 U.S. 535 (1942))

References