“It does however mean that young women who need to have their appendix removed can do so without fear of the risk on future fertility”, they commented.
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The study followed a 2012 report from the same research team which initially revealed the surprising statistics around appendectomies and pregnancy.
Both surgical procedures are common in the United States; studies suggest 1 in every 2,000 people have an appendectomy at some point in their lifetime, while more than 500,000 tonsillectomies take place in the USA each year, mostly among children.
They found that, over the 15-year study period, the chance of pregnancy was 34pc greater for women who had their appendix removed, 49pc higher following a tonsillectomy and 43pc greater for women who had both removed.
However, the findings did not clarify the reasons explaining why both procedures appear to make it more likely for women to get pregnant.
Apparently, it might be due to the behavior of women who go through such a procedure.
The study found that the pregnancy rate among the general population was 43.7%.
However, they emphasised that women should not seek out these procedures in the hope that it will increase their chances of becoming pregnant.
Prof Allan Pacey, from the University of Sheffield, told the BBC: “This is an interesting paper which suggests that surgical removal of the appendix or tonsils (or both) in young women is associated with an increase in their fertility later in life”.
Pregnancy rates were significantly higher among those who had an operation to remove their appendix (54.4 per cent) or one to take out their tonsils out (53.4 per cent).
A smaller study by the researchers suggested the higher rates of pregnancy for women who have had either or both procedures, leading to the second, larger review of medical data.
Some people have anxious that if a woman has her appendix removed that she might have a harder time becoming pregnant. These records were compared with women who hadn’t had either operation.
Women without their tonsils were therefore 49% more likely to fall pregnant than those with their tonsils.
However, when they looked at it again, the results were again “surprising”.
‘This scientifically challenges the myth of the effect of appendectomy on fertility.
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In the past it was believed that the surgeries, especially appendectomies, reduced chances of fertility because of scar tissue that may form around a woman’s fallopian tubes. “What we have to establish now is exactly why that is the case”, said Sami Shimi, who led the study.
