Salpingectomy Guide: What to Expect Before, During, and After Surgery

A salpingectomy is the surgical removal of one or both fallopian tubes, and for many women in the ovarian cancer community, it’s a surgery wrapped up in a lot of questions. 

Maybe your doctor brought it up as part of a hysterectomy. Maybe it’s connected to a BRCA mutation or family history. Or maybe you’re already living with an ovarian cancer diagnosis and this procedure is one piece of a much larger treatment plan.

We’ve already written about how opportunistic salpingectomy can help reduce ovarian cancer risk. This time, we’re focusing on the practical side: what actually happens during surgery, how recovery tends to go, what side effects are normal versus worth a call to your doctor, and what questions to bring with you to your next appointment.

What Is a Salpingectomy?

Your fallopian tubes connect your ovaries to your uterus, and they’re the pathway eggs travel down during ovulation. A salpingectomy removes one tube (unilateral) or both (bilateral). Some people have the entire tube removed; others have only part of it taken, which is called a partial salpingectomy.

This surgery comes up for a few different reasons:

• Treating or preventing an ectopic pregnancy (a life-threatening condition that occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus, most commonly in a fallopian tube)
• Permanent contraception
• Reducing ovarian cancer risk, especially for people with BRCA1, BRCA2, or Lynch syndrome
• Treating infection, endometriosis in the tubes, or a damaged/blocked tube
• As part of a larger cancer surgery, alongside an oophorectomy or hysterectomy

If you’re approaching this surgery specifically because of ovarian cancer risk, it helps to understand why fallopian tubes matter so much. 

Research has shown that many high-grade serous ovarian cancers actually start in the fallopian tubes before spreading to the ovaries. That’s part of why salpingectomy as ovarian cancer prevention has become such an active area of research and practice. 

According to research, salpingectomy performed for permanent contraception or other benign reasons was associated with a 42% to 77% reduction in ovarian cancer risk compared with traditional approaches.  

Salpingectomy Types You Might Encounter

Your doctor may use a few different terms depending on what’s being removed and why.

Unilateral vs. bilateral. Unilateral means one tube comes out, usually for a localized issue like an ectopic pregnancy. Bilateral means both tubes are removed, which is the approach for permanent contraception or cancer risk reduction.

Salpingectomy with ovarian preservation. This means only the tubes are removed and your ovaries stay in place. It’s an important distinction, because your ovaries (not your fallopian tubes) produce hormones. Keeping them intact generally means you won’t go into surgical menopause.

Salpingo-oophorectomy. This is a different, more extensive procedure that removes the fallopian tube and the ovary together. 

Preparing for Your Salpingectomy

Your care team will walk you through specifics, but most pre-op instructions follow a similar pattern.

You’ll likely have blood work, and possibly imaging, done in the days or weeks before surgery. You’ll be asked about every medication and supplement you take, since some usually need to be paused beforehand (particularly blood thinners and NSAIDs like ibuprofen). Your surgeon will give you a clear cutoff time for eating and drinking, typically starting the night before.

A few things worth doing on your end:

• Arrange a ride home, since you won’t be cleared to drive after anesthesia
• Set up help at home for the first few days, especially if you have young kids or a physically demanding routine
• Write down your questions in advance, because it’s easy to blank out in the moment

What Happens During the Procedure

Most salpingectomies today are done laparoscopically. That means your surgeon makes a few small incisions in your abdomen, inflates your belly with gas to get a clear view, and uses a thin camera and small instruments to locate and remove the fallopian tube(s). It’s a minimally invasive approach, and for a standalone procedure, it typically takes well under two hours.

In some cases — a complicated ectopic pregnancy, extensive scar tissue from prior surgeries, or a salpingectomy performed during an open hysterectomy or C-section — your surgeon may instead use a single larger incision, called a laparotomy. 

If you want to understand the tradeoffs between these two surgical approaches in more depth, we cover it in our laparoscopy vs. laparotomy guide.

You’ll be under general anesthesia for either approach, so you won’t be aware during the surgery itself.

Salpingectomy Recovery Timeline

This is usually the part people care about most: how long until I feel like myself again?

The first 24 hours: You’ll wake up in a recovery room while the anesthesia wears off. Grogginess, mild nausea, and soreness around your incisions are common. If your salpingectomy was a standalone laparoscopic procedure, you may go home the same day.

The first week: Expect to take it easy. Rest, light movement around the house, and following your pain management plan are the priorities. Some people feel shoulder, neck, or chest discomfort during this window. That’s from the gas used during laparoscopy working its way out, and it usually resolves within a few days.

Two weeks in: Many people are back to light activity and even light desk work by this point, though everyone heals at a different pace. Heavy lifting and strenuous exercise are still off the table.

Four to six weeks: This is the general benchmark for resuming normal activity, including more demanding exercise and sexual intercourse, but only once your surgeon gives you the green light. 

If your salpingectomy was performed alongside a hysterectomy or another major abdominal surgery, your recovery follows that larger procedure’s timeline, not the salpingectomy’s. 

Read more: “Ovarian Cancer Post-Surgery: Your Guide to Recovery”

Managing Side Effects After Surgery

A few side effects are common and expected. Knowing what’s normal can take some of the anxiety out of recovery.

Soreness and swelling around your incision sites are typical for the first several days. So is fatigue. Your body is healing, and rest is doing real work. Some bloating and gas pain are also common right after laparoscopic surgery, since your abdomen was inflated during the procedure.

For managing this period, most people find it helpful to:

• Take pain medication as prescribed, rather than waiting until pain becomes severe
• Use a heating pad for abdominal or shoulder discomfort
• Walk short distances when cleared to, since gentle movement helps with both circulation and trapped gas
• Stick to light, easy-to-digest meals for the first day or two

If you experience hormonal symptoms, it’s worth knowing the difference between what’s expected and what’s not. 

Fallopian tubes don’t produce hormones; your ovaries do. So if your ovaries were preserved during your salpingectomy, you shouldn’t experience surgical menopause. You’ll also still get your period, since periods aren’t controlled by the fallopian tubes either. 

If you’re noticing menopause-like symptoms after a salpingectomy with ovarian preservation, that’s worth flagging to your doctor rather than assuming it’s expected.

Possible Complications: How Common They Really Are

Like any surgery, salpingectomy carries some risk, but the data is reassuring. Research found an overall complication rate of just 2.8%, with no meaningful difference in safety between procedures done for contraception versus cancer prevention.

When complications do happen, they tend to fall into a few categories:

• Bleeding at the incision site or internally
• Infection
• Injury to nearby organs, such as the bladder or intestines
• Reaction to anesthesia
• Blood clots

Watch for these warning signs after you’re home, and call your doctor if you notice:

• Fever or chills
• Redness, swelling, or fluid leaking from an incision
• Pain that worsens instead of improves, or isn’t controlled by your medication
• Painful urination
• Heavy or abnormal vaginal bleeding
• Swelling, redness, or pain in your leg, which can signal a blood clot

None of these are meant to scare you off the procedure. They’re meant to help you recognize the difference between “this is normal healing” and “this needs a phone call.”

Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before a Salpingectomy

Going into surgery with a list of questions can make the whole process feel more manageable. Consider asking your care team:

• Will my ovaries be removed, preserved, or evaluated during surgery?
• Will this be a standalone procedure, or combined with another surgery like a hysterectomy?
• What approach will you use, laparoscopic or open?
• What’s a realistic recovery timeline for my specific situation and job?
• What pain management plan should I expect, and what does “normal” pain look like versus a red flag?
• If this is being done for cancer prevention, how will the tissue be examined afterward?
• When can I expect a follow-up appointment, and what will it cover?

Salpingectomy FAQs

Will I go through menopause after a salpingectomy? Not if your ovaries are left in place. A salpingectomy with ovarian preservation typically doesn’t trigger menopause.

Will I still get my period? Yes. Since your fallopian tubes don’t control menstruation, your periods should continue as before, assuming your ovaries and uterus are still intact.

Can I still get pregnant after a salpingectomy? If you had a unilateral salpingectomy and your remaining tube is healthy, natural pregnancy may still be possible. If both tubes were removed, natural conception isn’t possible, though pregnancy via IVF can still be an option if you still have your uterus.

How long is recovery, really? For a standalone laparoscopic salpingectomy, most people are back to light activity within one to two weeks and fully recovered by around four to six weeks. Recovery takes longer if the surgery was combined with a hysterectomy or other major procedure, or done through an open incision.

Is a salpingectomy reversible? No. Once the fallopian tube is removed, it cannot be reattached. This is part of why doctors recommend taking time to think through your decision, particularly if future fertility is a consideration.

Does a salpingectomy guarantee I won’t get ovarian cancer? No procedure offers a guarantee. Salpingectomy is associated with a significant reduction in risk, but it doesn’t eliminate it entirely. 

If you’re facing a salpingectomy, whether it’s tied to a cancer diagnosis, a genetic risk factor, or a decision about your fertility, you’re not alone in navigating it. At Not These Ovaries, we’re committed to making sure people have clear, honest information at every step of this journey, while we keep funding the research that’s working to outpace this disease.