Handling of tubal infertility after introduction of in vitro fertilization: changes and consequences.

This study aimed at quantifying some important social and economic consequences of the altered handling of tubal infertility after the establishment of IVF treatment. The number of tubal operations was reduced by 50%. This had most important and positive implications on the availability of the operating theater for other elective operations, on the availability of hospital beds for other patient groups, and on the total duration of the certificate of illness. The calculated costs per live birth were $17,000 after tubal surgery, compared with $12,000 after IVF treatment. Life table analyses demonstrated a highly significant increased rate of deliveries after a complete IVF treatment (72.3% per patient) compared with tubal surgery (23.7%, P less than 0.001).