Essure®
For those who have decided that their family is complete and are considering a permanent form of birth control, Essure® is an option. Essure is a permanent form of birth control for women who are certain that they do not want to become pregnant. This FDA-approved treatment involves a noninvasive procedure that inserts tiny, spring-like coils into the fallopian tubes to prevent sperm from reaching the eggs.
Benefits of Essure
Essure is up to 99.8% effective in preventing pregnancy based on five years of clinical data. These results are higher than any other type of birth control, including tubal ligation, vasectomy, oral contraceptives and condoms. Essure achieves these results through a noninvasive procedure with virtually no side effects.
Some of the benefits of the Essure procedure include:
- No cutting or burning
- No need for general anesthesia
- No hormones
- No downtime
- Short procedure time
- Covered by insurance
The Essure Procedure
The Essure procedure takes less than 10 minutes to perform and can be done in your doctor's office. There is no need for general anesthesia because the device is inserted through the body's natural passageways. During the procedure, your doctor will slide the small, soft inserts into the fallopian tubes, so no surgery or incision is required. Over the next three months, the inserts will work with your body to growing soft tissue and blocking the tubes and preventing sperm from passing through to the eggs.
Your body will continue to produce eggs, which will be absorbed by your body instead of fertilized by sperm. Some women experience minor temporary changes in their period after the Essure procedure, including lighter or heavier bleeding and spotting in between periods.
During the first three months after the procedure, another form of birth control will be needed to ensure complete protection against pregnancy. After the procedure, patients can return home right. They can resume work and other normal activities the very next day. There is no downtime and no scarring from this safe and effective procedure.
After three months, a special test, known as the Essure Confirmation Test, will need to be done to verify that the tubes are fully blocked. Once this is confirmed, you may start relying on Essure as your only form of birth control. Essure has been shown to be 99.8% effective, based on five years of clinical data.
Risks of the Essure Procedure
Essure is a safe and healthy permanent birth control choice that can be used by most women with little to no complications. As with all procedures, there are certain risks associated with Essure. Some women may experience mild to moderate pain during the procedure, and vaginal bleeding that may last for a few days after. Although rare, risks such as perforation, expulsion, nausea, vomiting and pregnancy are possible after the Essure procedure. Talk to your doctor to learn more about these risks.
The Essure birth control procedure should not be performed on women who are pregnant or think they might be pregnant, have an active or recent pelvic infection, who may want to have children in the future, or have other serious health conditions.