Table of Contents
What is Essure?
Essure is a barrier method of contraception, that is, it prevents the egg and the sperm from physically finding each other. In addition, this method of contraception does not contain hormones.
It is a small titanium spring 4 cm long, which is inserted into the fallopian tubes to obstruct them and not to let the ovum or sperm pass, and thus prevent fertilization and pregnancy.
This small titanium device is placed using a procedure called hysteroscopy . And what does all the placement work consist of? It is very simple, there are no cuts or incisions, it involves introducing, through the vagina, through the cervix, a camera (hysteroscope) that together with another device guide the specialist into the uterine cavity to see clearly and to be able to implant the Essure in the area of the corresponding tube.
This procedure is not performed under general anesthesia, but under mild sedation, during which the woman remains asleep, but breathing on her own. In addition, the procedure has a short duration, around 15 minutes.
This method of contraception takes three months to be effective, so it is recommended to use another type of contraception (other than the IUD ) during this time.
Like all procedures in medicine, Essure has its pros and cons. We explain them to you next, so that you are the ones that decide, in the last analysis, if you want to use it or not as a contraceptive method .
Essure is a small device of polyester fibers, titanium alloy, nickel and stainless steel, 4 cm long and 0.8 mm thick, which is inserted into the fallopian tubes by means of a hysteroscope. This mini device (Essure) is inside each of the tubes causing the male and female gametes can not be found.
In addition, to be in the tube and after several weeks, the device, thanks to the polyester fibers and interacting with your body, is creating an increasingly progressive obstruction, as they make a tissue (fibrosis) that covers the tube grow . In addition, these small springs can also cause adhesions and local inflammation, further clogging the fallopian tubes.
After three months of introducing Essure it is verified that the obstruction is complete by performing a test called hysterosalpingography (HSG) . This test involves the introduction through the cervix of a contrast fluid, which fills the uterus and passes through the tubes. This procedure is observed through X-rays. The HSG is a procedure that does not require sedation and lasts for a few minutes.
It is important to remember that both Essure placement and hysterosalpingography are procedures that must always be performed by a specialist (radiologist or gynecologist), and that it is essential that the patient come to this review three months after implanting the device. , to check that it is correctly placed, and that tubal obstruction has occurred.
But before we would like to tell you that there is an Essure quality that can be seen as an advantage, but also become a disadvantage, depending on what the woman wants in her reproductive future: Essure is an irreversible method, so it is essential that the decision to resort to him is very thoughtful.
Advantages of Essure
- It is irreversible, you will never have to worry about contraception again if it is the decision that you have adopted after meditating.
- It has a high effectiveness rate (99.8%).
- It does not contain hormones, nor all the inconveniences that this causes.
- It is an ambulatory surgery and of very short duration. Without using general anesthesia.
- It is not necessary postoperatively, the next day you can make normal life.
Disadvantages of Essure
- It is irreversible. In the case of wanting to get pregnant in the future, you would have to resort to an In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) .
- During the three months after the Essure placement you must use another contraceptive method, since it is not effective during this time.
- Being a very new method, you have less experience and, therefore, fewer women who have used it and fewer studies done about it.
- This method does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) .
- Three months after performing the procedure, the woman has to undergo a hysterosalpingography (HSG) .
- Cases have been described of women with significant discomfort, or who have suffered serious sequelae .