What Is Fertility Surgery
And What Does It Mean For Me?
If you’re considering any kind of surgery, you likely feel confused, anxious, or even afraid. When it comes to fertility surgery, it’s common to have a heightened sense of all of these feelings—and you’re likely here to absorb as much reliable information as you can about what you can expect from your surgery.
Choosing to have children is an extremely personal and emotional journey, and if you’ve recently discovered that you may need fertility surgery to make it possible to have a healthy pregnancy or healthy reproductive system, you deserve answers to all of your questions and the best, personalized treatment plan from a team of experts.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the questions our patients ask first, how to vet your providers as you proceed with surgery, and what you can expect every step of the way.
What Does Fertility Surgery Mean?
There is a big difference between non-surgical fertility treatment options and actual fertility surgery. The former—which you might also hear called “non-surgical” or simply “medical fertility treatment" - can include a wide variety of options that you choose with the guidance of your doctor, and may include prescriptions, intrauterine insemination (IUI), or cycle monitoring and stimulation.
Fertility surgery, on the other hand, is more likely to treat more serious conditions that may prevent you from getting or staying pregnant, like uterine fibroids, adhesions, or endometriosis tissue.
For men, fertility surgery might mean reversing vasectomies or repairing varicocele.
Each surgery is as unique as the condition it’s treating. You might see that some rare fertility surgeries require inpatient care and long recovery times, while most others, like hysteroscopy and laparoscopy, are quite fast and typically only require outpatient care.
Types of Fertility Surgery
We can generally categorize most fertility surgeries into 3 main groups:
- Hysteroscopy
- Laparoscopy
- Microsurgery
Now that you understand the definitions and types of fertility surgeries you might be considering, you’re probably thinking about how to find a provider who you can truly trust to take care of you—both before the surgery and all the way through your successful recovery.
Trust is the most important thing to have as you consider surgeons to perform your surgery. When you’ve found a fertility surgery provider who you feel confident in and whose expertise you trust in, it can make a world of difference as you prepare for your procedure.
How to Feel Empowered and Positive Throughout Fertility Surgery
From evaluation to surgery and recovery, all the way through healthy pregnancy—you can feel encouraged, safe, and empowered through the process, as long as you have laid the right foundation with solid research and a trustworthy team.
To feel positive, hopeful, and in control during this sometimes intimidating process, build your circle of trusted friends, family members, and experts. Research your options online, but don’t forget that speaking with a fertility physician or surgeon in-person can often allow for more natural, patient-centered conversations that you deserve!
Surround yourself with positive resources, surgery success stories, and a fertility clinic that helps you feel welcome and comfortable. As you consider your options and take more steps to completing your surgery, you can also find support in many places. While we hope this guide (and the rest of our site) are helpful resources for you, you might also turn to these other sources to find emotional or educational support:
Resolve.org Support Group Finder
Oprah Magazine’s Guide to Infertility Support Groups for Black Women
Your Next Steps
When you’re ready to talk about your specific fertility surgery options and get your questions answered, it may be time to start meeting with fertility surgery providers in your area. Making an appointment is the best way to help the physician get a full understanding of your medical history, any current treatment you’re pursuing, and what surgical options are right for you.
If you are in the New York area, learn more about the Manhattan Reproductive Surgery Center (MRSC), New York's first stand alone fertility surgery center solely with a reproductive focus. This center is a dedicated facility for the patients of Kofinas Fertility Group.