Women without appendix 'more fertile'

Have you had your tonsils or appendix removed? If you have and you're a woman, you probably weren't told that the surgery may have increased your chances of having a baby. You may previously have been told the opposite. But a new 15-year study found that women who had their tonsils or appendix removed when they were young are more likely to get pregnant, and to do so earlier in life. 

The research, carried out by the University of Dundee and University College London, examined the anonymised medical records of hundreds of thousands of women in the United Kingdom. They found that the chance of pregnancy was 34 per cent greater for women who had their appendix removed, 49 per cent higher following a tonsillectomy and 43 per cent greater for women who had both removed.

The findings are surprising as most doctors believe that an appendectomy can damage fertility by disrupting the fallopian tubes. The researchers warn that many women who sought fertility help may have been wrongly told their failure to get pregnant was down to having their appendix removed.