How The Essure Birth Control Device Works

Tubal ligation has been the standard for reproductive sterilization. Essure is another type of sterilization, only it doesn’t require a surgical procedure. The procedure to implant the device takes about 10 minutes and can be performed right in your doctor’s office. As simple as the device seems, women across the country are seeking justice and talking to attorneys about Essure lawsuit litigation for serious injuries.

Essure has been available in the United States since 2002 and has been used by more than three quarters of a million women globally. The device is comprised two, small, flexible coils that are inserted into the fallopian tubes. These coils are made of stainless steel alloy, nickel-titanium, and polyester fibers, so if you are allergic to nickel, speak to your physician before considering the Essure device.

Your doctor will insert the coils through the vagina, cervix, and uterus to the opening of the fallopian tubes where the coils are placed. Over the following few months, the coils will expand and scar tissue will grow around each coil to hold it in place.

While the scar tissue is forming, you must use another form of birth control to make sure you don’t get pregnant. You doctors will perform a confirmation test in which a dye is inserted into the uterus and you have an X-ray to see if the fallopian tubes are fully blocked. If they are, you can then depend on Essure.

With Essure, your ovaries continue to make and release eggs, however with the fallopian tubes blocked, sperm cannot reach the egg to fertilize it. The unfertilized egg is simply absorbed by the body.

Reversal Procedure

Sterilization by Essure or tubal ligation are considered permanent, however both can be reversed surgically. To reverse a tubal ligation, physicians will remove band or clamp placed on the tubes and reconnected them with stitches. More than half of the women who have tubal ligation reversal procedure will go on to get pregnant.

The reversal procedure for Essure is slightly different. Physicians will make a small incision above your pubic hair, and then slice each tube to remove the coil and scar tissue, and then reconnect each to the uterus. If you become pregnant after the procedure, there is a greater chance of uterine rupture in late pregnancy.

Side Effects

Some women have experienced serious side effects with Essure, including hair loss, migraine headaches, and autoimmune issues. Thousands of women have reported adverse events to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration including –

• Device migration
• Device breakage
• Incompatibility
• Device malposition
• Device working differently than expected

Essure has also been associated with severe pain, device migration, and organ perforation if the device moves through the abdominal cavity. Sometimes the damage is severe and physicians must perform a hysterectomy. Learn more about the side effects and complications of the Essure device.