Essure Permanent Birth Control/Sterilization

Fortunately, a new method, Essure, has been developed that can provide sterilization without having to make cuts/incisions or burning of the fallopian tubes or the need to go to the operating room. Essure is an insert that is placed into the fallopian tubes through the vagina and cervix, much like other office procedures such as placement of IUDs.

The Essure insert is a very small, soft, flexible insert made of medical grade titanium/nickel. Once the insert is placed, the fallopian tube grows inward around the Essure. All of this growth is internal to the tube causing no reaction outside of the tube. Because there is no burning or cutting, scar tissue is NOT created outside of the fallopian tubes and does not effect how a woman’s ovaries normally work to make hormones. Once the fallopian tubes have grown around the insert internally, this provides the most effective permanent prevention of pregnancy available with zero pregnancies in the clinical trials. In fact, Essure’s success rate is higher than tubal ligation in the operating room, vasectomy, or Adiana sterilization.

The developmental history of the Essure procedure is quite interesting in that the device was mirrored after inserts that have been used for decades by Cardiologists and Neurosurgeons to treat abnormal blood vessels in the heart and brain. Millions of men and women have similar devices implanted in their heart and brains for many decades attesting to the safety of the device in the human body. As time progressed, researchers felt the device could also be used in the female tubes to stimulate growth within the tubes, thus blocking them permanently. As a result of their innovation, Essure was the first procedure offered for sterilization that could be placed without the requirement of burning, cutting, or general anesthesia and was FDA approved in 2002.

The actual Essure procedure usually takes 2-5 minutes to perform in my office. The placement of the Essure device is associated with mild to moderate cramping during this 2-5 minute placement. However, once placed most women have no perception that the inserts have been placed. About 5% of women will, however, report some mild cramping that will last a few hours to a few days while the body “gets” used to the inserts. You will be given medications following your procedure in case you happen to be in the 5% of women who experience cramping.

You may return to normal activities within a few hours of your procedure. However, I ask that you refrain from sexual intercourse for about one week and that you do not drive until your medications from the procedure have worn off (2-4 hours).

The FDA has recommended that all women who undergo Essure obtain a 3 month Essure Confirmation Test. This test involves a visit to the radiology department where a radiologist will place a small amount of dye into the uterus to determine that both the inserts are in the proper location and that both fallopian tubes are blocked. Once this is confirmed, you may rely on the Essure procedure to prevent pregnancy permanently.