Scientists at Dundee University have discovered women who have their appendix or tonsils removed when they are young are more likely to one day become pregnant.
Researchers examined hundreds of thousands of anonymous medical records of women across the UK.
The pregnancy rates of women who had their tonsils or appendixes removed was significantly higher than for those who had not.
Women who had a tonsillectomy had a rate of 53.4%, an appendectomy was 53.4% and women who had both had a pregnancy rate of 59.7%.
All three of these rates are higher than the pregnancy rates of women who had neither, which stands at 43.7%.
The study also showed women who had either of the procedures were more likely to get pregnant at a younger age.
Sami Shimi, senior lecturer of medicine at Dundee University, said the findings went against the understanding many doctors had been taught at medical school.
The consultant for NHS Tayside also warned against women seeking an appendectomy or a tonsillectomy in a bid to improve their chances of conceiving.
He said: “For many years medical students were taught that appendectomy had a negative effect on fertility and young women often feared that having their appendix removed threatened their chances of later becoming pregnant.
“Our first study produced such a surprising result – that women who had had their appendix removed actually appeared more likely to become pregnant – that we wanted to look at a wider group to establish whether this was really related to the removal of the appendix, which if left can be a cause of inflammation.
“However, once again the results have been surprising. We have found that women who have had an appendectomy or tonsillectomy, or even more particularly both, are more likely to become pregnant, and sooner than the rest of the general population.
“This scientifically challenges the myth of the effect of appendectomy on fertility. What we have to establish now is exactly why that is the case.”
Research was conducted by a team of scientists from Dundee University and University College London, and was based on a study conducted in 2012 which initially revealed the “surprising” results.
