Permanent Birth Control In 10 Minutes

Apr. 4 - KGO (KGO) -- One Bay Area company's drive to discover a better form of permanent birth control led to a new way of performing tubal ligation. The procedure is done in the doctor's office and involves no incisions.

Holly Wood, patient: "I was thinking about tubal ligation, but I didn't want to have the cuts and all that and I was little bit leery about that."

But 42-year-old Holly Wood knew she didn't want to have any more children either. Her gynecologist offered her another option. It's a simple procedure that takes place right in the doctor's office. Both patient and physician are able to watch the procedure on a monitor. A tiny coil is inserted through the cervix and into the fallopian tubes, all in about 10 minutes.

Within one to three months, scar tissue forms around the coils, permanently closing off the fallopian tubes. Providing an impassible barrier between sperm and egg. It's called the "Essure procedure", developed by Mountain View based Conceptus and approved by the FDA in 2002.

Louis Klein, MD, Ob/Gyn: "I don't understand why everybody isn't doing this, to tell you the truth; it's just the way to go."

Dr. Louis Klein's performed standard tubal ligation for more than 30 years. But even when done laparoscopically, it's an invasive surgery.

Louis Klein, MD, Ob/Gyn: "There's a risk of injury to those organs when you go inside there or just the process of making the incision, there's a lot more discomfort there's a lot more risk, there's a lot more time involvement."

The Essure procedure means no incisions; no lengthy recovery patients get local anesthesia and a bit of oral sedation.

Louis Klein, MD, Ob/Gyn: "'How was it, was it okay?' and they always look at me like I'm nuts and they say, 'I've had a baby, that wasn't even a contraction.'"

Holly Wood, patient: "It was just like a pap smear, and I'm like, I'm done?"

For Holly, it didn't slow her down at all.

Holly Wood, patient: "I went about my business, I went to work the next day, I went out to lunch with my girlfriends the same day."

During the clinical trials, not a single pregnancy occurred. And it's proven 99.8 percent effective in the past four years, with more than 100,000 procedures performed in this country.

Louis Klein, MD, Ob/Gyn: "I think its a great move forward in terms of contraceptive technology."

A simpler solution for women looking for permanent birth control.

For more information:

www.essure.com

Louis Klein, MD
112 La Casa Via, Suite 130
Walnut Creek, Ca 94598
925-937-0995

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