Late complications of sterilization according to method.

By using a patient questionnaire, we checked the effects of two tubal sterilization procedures (high-frequency [HF] and endocoagulation techniques) in relation to late complications. In the years following high-frequency sterilization, 23 women (8.9%) had hysterectomies; in the endocoagulation group only 9 patients (2.3%) underwent hysterectomy. Patients sterilized by the unipolar high-frequency technique required one to three curettages in 7.8% of cases, whereas only 2.1% of the endocoagulation group required this procedure. Seventy-nine patients in the high-frequency group (30.9%) exhibited menstrual disorders as compared to only 45 (11.7%) in the other group. The combination of menstrual irregularities and menopausal complaints was found in 7.4% of the HF group, while only 2.8% of the endocoagulation group experienced these problems. Menopausal complaints only, without menstrual disorders, occurred in 4.7% and 3.9% of the women, respectively. Eighty-five percent of 330 patients sterilized by the Semm endocoagulation technique had no menstrual complaints or menopausal symptoms; in the HF group this was the case for 160 women (62%). Our results demonstrate that late postoperative complications arise less often in patients sterilized by endocoagulation.