Doctors are now advising women to have their fallopian tubes REMOVED to avoid ovarian cancer 

Doctors are now advising more women to get their fallopian tubes removed in order to avoid ovarian cancer.

Removing a woman’s fallopian tubes, also known as a salpingectomy, is usually performed as a form of permanent birth control, as well as to treat conditions like an ectopic pregnancy or endometriosis.

However, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance has released updated guidance, encouraging women who are done having children and who are already ‘undergoing a pelvic surgery’ for another condition to get their fallopian tubes removed as a protective measure against ovarian cancer. 

‘As the fallopian tube is the origin of most high-grade serous cancers, fallopian tube removal has been shown to dramatically reduce risk for a later ovarian cancer diagnosis,’ the organization explained.

The fallopian tubes are used to bring an egg from the ovaries to the uterus when a woman becomes pregnant.

The suggestion to get them pre-emptively taken out to avoid ovarian cancer came after a clinic trial performed by UKCTOCS found that unlike other forms of cancers, how early the disease is detected isn’t directly linked to its survival rate.

‘In addition to finding that screening average-risk women does not reduce ovarian cancer mortality, the trial revealed that in many women identifying their cancer at Stage I or Stage II did not impact their mortality,’ the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance revealed.

‘Detecting it at an earlier stage was not enough to prevent them from dying from the disease and did not prolong their lives.

‘Equally paradoxically, the same study showed that some women (albeit a minority of women) diagnosed in late stage did very well. 

‘Their late-stage diagnosis did not condemn them to a poor prognosis, because there was something about their cancer that was less aggressive, and their positive outcome would have occurred whether diagnosed earlier or later.

‘It is clear that for early detection to dramatically improve outcomes, new yet undiscovered methods will need to be developed so the cancer can be discovered much earlier for those with the more aggressive ovarian cancer.’ 

According to the American Cancer Society, 19,710 women in the US are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year, and 13,000 die from the disease annually.

A gynecologic oncologist at NYU Langone, named Bhavana Pothuri, told Washington Post that the procedure is ‘simple’ and ‘doesn’t impact your hormonal function.’

During the surgery, doctors will make a cut in the abdomen to remove the tubes, however, it can also be done laparoscopically, which means the surgeon will make a much-smaller incision and use a ‘tweezer-like’ instrument to perform the surgery. 

However, the procedure does have a long recovery time – it can take up to three weeks to get back to normal – and HealthDirect.gov pointed out that there are some serious risks that come with the surgery, including infection, damage to nearby organs, and excess bleeding.

The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance encouraged women who are done having kids and who are already ‘undergoing a pelvic surgery’ to get their fallopian tubes removed (stock image)

It also comes at a steep price, as MedicineNet.com said that it can cost between $4,000 to $100,000 depending on your insurance. 

It is unclear whether or not insurance would cover the procedure for women who are not deemed high risk but are getting it to avoid ovarian cancer. 

Karen H. Lu – who is part of the department of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at the University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center – told Washington Post that this could be an effective way of preventing ovarian cancer, since most of the time, it starts in the fallopian tubes.

Rebecca Lynn Stone, a gynecologic oncology surgeon, echoed these sentiments to Hopkins Medicine explaining, ‘Salpingectomy lowers the risk of ovarian cancer in all people.

‘It is critical to understand that [even] people who are average risk for ovarian cancer (those not known to have a hereditary risk) are eligible for salpingectomy for ovarian cancer prevention once they have completed childbearing.’

As of now, the procedure is only recommended for those who are already getting pelvic surgery for something else, like a hysterectomy, tubal ligations, cyst removal, or endometriosis.

The suggestion comes amid growing concern about the rise in a ‘surgery-first’ attitude across America.

Last month, pediatricians began advising that obese children as young as 13 should be given bariatric surgery, as well as weight-loss drugs. 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) announced in early January that it was now formally against the long-standing practice of ‘watchful waiting,’ or delaying treatment to see whether youngsters outgrow or overcome obesity on their own. 

The medical interventions should be used in addition to intensive diet, exercise, and other behavior and lifestyle interventions, said Dr Eneli, director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children´s Hospital.