Post appendectomy mechanical sterility.

The incidence of female sterility due to pelvic adhesions following appendectomy was evaluated. Two groups of women were investigated: the first group consisted of girls who underwent appendectomy under the age of ten. Of this group, we were able to detect 24 women of whom 9 were still single and 13 have delivered one or more children. The second group was selected from women in whom mechanical sterility was confirmed by laparoscopy or laparotomy. The rate of appendectomy in this group was found to be 29 percent compared to 7-10 percent in the general population. Seventy one percent of the women who underwent appendectomy were above the age of seventeen when operated. It is concluded that women undergoing appendectomy, particularly after adolescence, are at higher risk for subsequently developing mechanical sterility.