Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
The Essure system is a type of permanent birth control for women. The Essure system includes two small metal and fiber coils that are placed in the fallopian tubes. They're inserted through the vagina, so no incision is required.
After insertion, scar tissue forms around the coils, blocking off the fallopian tubes and preventing sperm from reaching the egg. It takes time for this to happen. So you must use another form of birth control for the first three months. You'll then have an X-ray (hysterosalpingography) to confirm that your fallopian tubes are blocked.
The Essure system doesn't offer protection from sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and isn't reversible.
- Greenberg J. Hysteroscopic sterilization. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 12, 2011.
- Birth control methods. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/birth-control-methods.cfm. Accessed Dec. 12, 2011.
- Abbott J. Transcervical sterilization. Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology. 2007;19:325.
- Essure (prescribing information). Mountain View, Calif.: Conceptus Incorporated; 2011. http://www.essuremd.com/Home/LearningLibrary/Publications/tabid/314/Default.aspx. Accessed Dec. 12, 2011.
- Stovall TG. Surgical sterilization of women. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 12, 2011.
- Roncari D, et al. Female and male sterilization. In: Hatcher RA, et al. Contraceptive Technology. 20th ed. New York, N.Y.: Ardent Media Inc.; 2011:435.
- Sterilization. In: Cunningham FG, ed. Williams Obstetrics. 3rd. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=6032717. Accessed Dec. 15, 2011.
- Stubblefield PG, et al. Family planning. In: Berek JS, ed. Berek & Novak's Gynecology. 14th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007:248.
- Sterilization for women and men. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/~/media/ForPatients/faq011.ashx. Accessed Dec. 12, 2011.
- Smith RD. Contemporary hysteroscopic methods for female sterilization. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 2010;108:79.
Find Mayo Clinic on