Salpingectomy as standard at hysterectomy? A Danish cohort study, 1977–2010

OBJECTIVE: To assess if the risk of first-time salpingectomy was affected by prior hysterectomy with retained fallopian tubes and by prior sterilisation. DESIGN: A historical cohort study. SETTING: Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: 170 000 randomly selected women born 1947–1963 (10 000/year) were followed from 1977 until the end of 2010. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Effect of hysterectomy with retained fallopian tubes or sterilisation on the risk of salpingectomy. Both were modelled in a Cox proportional hazards model as time-dependent covariates, analysing time to first salpingectomy. End of follow-up period was 31 December 2010. RESULTS: Of 9591 hysterectomies, 6456 (67.3%) had both fallopian tubes retained. HRs for salpingectomy after hysterectomy with retained fallopian tubes and sterilisation were 2.13 (95% 1.88 to 2.42) and 2.42 (2.21 to 2.64), as compared with those for non-hysterectomised and non-sterilised women. CONCLUSIONS: Women undergoing hysterectomy with retained fallopian tubes or sterilisation have at least a doubled risk of subsequent salpingectomy. Removal of the fallopian tubes at hysterectomy should therefore be recommended.