Hello - just coming on for some words of wisdom or advice...

I am 36 (will be 37 in a few months) and have never been pregnant.  In 2005 I had a bad case of Diverticulitis, which required a major, open colon resection surgery.  I have a scar from my waist to my pelvic bone.  In 2011, I had laparoscopic Gastric Bypass...5 incisions. Both surgeries went pretty smooth. I lost 150 pounds from my Bypass...and now here I am, 2 years later, and still not pregnant.  

My OB-GYN sent me for an HSG test, and initially they thought they saw spillage and that my tubes were fine. When I did not get pregnant the month following that test, the final results from Radiology showed blockages on *both sides*.  I was referred to a RE, who said that the next step is the surgery to go in and look, but he was nervous about doing it because of my previous abdominal surgeries. The risk of cutting into my bowel/complications is high. He said he did not want to make the first cut, and was going to call in the bariatric surgeon at that hospital (not where I had my Bypass done) to make the incision.  I was not feeling overly confident about all this, but my OB-GYN assured me I was in the best hands. 

Well, I get to the pre-op appt, one week before surgery, and the Dr basically said that IVF is the only option for me and that I need to have my tubes removed.  He thought there may be fluid in the tubes, and moving directly to IVF would be best.  I adamantly told him that I would not agree to have my tubes removed - as I would like him to try to fix them.  He cancelled the surgery, saying that it was just too risky....and sent me for a second opinion at a different hospital.

Today was my appt with Dr. #2...he seems much more confident and competent...but agreed that both tubes are definitely blocked toward the ends (from what he can tell from the HSG) and that 100% I would not be able to get pregnant without surgery.  He too is very concerned about the possibility of hitting my bowel, but said that he is willing to do it if I wanted to move ahead.  He said the only way he would remove either tube is if there was a complication, such as it wouldn't stop bleeding, etc.  His main objective is to fix them.....but he has to get to them first!!  He is very worried about scar tissue and the bowel.  He is a robotic surgeon though, and thinks that if I do the surgery, he would use the robot, as the arms are longer. He might be able to make the incision up closer to my ribs rather than down by my bellybutton and use the robotic arms to reach the tubes.  Anything that might lower the risk of hitting my bowel is a good thing.

Has anyone ever had blocked Fallopian Tubes repaired? Did previous surgeries hinder or cause complications?  We honestly can't afford thousands of dollars to do IVF....and even if we did, I hear that if there is any fluid in the tubes you would want to have them removed or tied off so that the fluid does not kill the fetus.  So even if we went the IVF root, I think I would still be looking at surgery.  So my decision is now....to have the surgery or not.

If anyone has any experience with this, or words of advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks so much!

I'm sorry that you have to go through this....it is a tough pill to swallow when one has to have assistance to get pregnant; i too was told that IVF would be my best option.  I don't have any personal experience dealing with blocked tubes but if I was in your shoes i might get a third opinion....What are your initial thoughts about the surgery? What does your husband say?  What are the ramifications if they cut your bowel?