Jul 14, 2009 5:15 pm US/Eastern
Permanent Pregnancy Prevention Procedure Effective
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Women can now permanently prevent pregnancy without surgery, returning home the same day.
It's called Essure, and in five years of clinical trials, no women have become pregnant after undergoing the procedure.
There are no incisions or scars, and that's exactly what Morningside mom Jessica Krizmanich wanted to hear.
For the 38-year-old single working mom, her family is just the right size.
"I really made the decision to not have any more kids nine years ago," she said. "[The doctors] did it right here in the office, which was really nice."
Krizmanich said hormonal pills, shots, patches, the IUD and the diaphragm were all too cumbersome for her. Essure, she said, is the perfect alternative.
Small, flexible coils are theaded up through the birth canal and womb, and into the fallopian tubes. Over time, a scar forms and plugs the area up, preventing sperm and egg from joining. It generally costs about $5,000, but health insurance usually will cover the procedure.
Dr. Mitchell Creinin, a UPMC Family Planning Specialist, said it is an irreversible procedure, so women must be completely sure.
"Somebody has to be 100 percent certain that there's no way in the future they ever would want any children or any more children," he said.
Krizmanich said she was given some sedation and pain medication, but the procedure only lasted about 10 minutes and was on her way home the same day.
This is the norm for most procedures -- 95 percent of women are back to normal activites within 24 hours.
To ensure Essure works, doctors administer an x-ray dye test three months after the initial procedure.
The dye is injected into the fallopian tubes to make sure the scarring has successfully blocked the way.
Despite the success, Dr. Creinin admits that most patients opt for the intrauterine device instead of the irreversible Essure procedure.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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