New Female Sterilization Technique / Permanent Birth Control Option

[Dover]

New Female Sterilization Technique Not Only Quicker And Easier For Patients, But Cheaper

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic gynecologists have discovered that hysteroscopic sterilization, a new method of plugging the fallopian tubes to prevent conception, will save patients money compared to laparoscopic tubal ligation, the most commonly used method of sterilization for women.

This technique involves inserting a nickel-titanium and stainless steel springlike device into the fallopian tubes using a hysteroscope, a tiny, fiberoptic camera. The metal device encapsulates and holds in place white polyester fibers able to cause scarring and thus block the fallopian tubes within 12 weeks, preventing the possibility of future pregnancy. This method requires minimal sedation and no surgical incision, as the surgeon enters via the vagina. It also allows quick recovery.

"Patients love it," says Abimbola Famuyide, M.B.B.S., Mayo Clinic gynecologic surgeon, who conducted the cost-comparison study. "There are minimal side effects. Patients typically leave the hospital within an hour, and they are back to work the next day."

Dr. Famuyide and colleagues found that hysteroscopic sterilization costs patients approximately $500 less on their medical bills compared to the traditional method of female sterilization, laparoscopic tubal ligation, surgery requiring an abdominal incision with general anesthesia...cont'd

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041115003531.htm

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New Permanent Birth Control Option For Women Offers Less-invasive Alternative To Tubal Ligation


Couples looking for permanent contraception now have a new option other than tubal ligation or vasectomy. Doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Center are among the first in the area to offer Essure, a non-surgical procedure for women that involves placing small coils in the fallopian tubes. Over time, scar tissue develops around these coils, which blocks the fallopian tubes and prevents conception.

"This procedure will revolutionize permanent birth control because it is less invasive than tubal ligation or vasectomy," says Richard Marvel, M.D., a gynecologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center and an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "What's so exciting about this procedure is that you don't need to make any incision. After the procedure, patients can go home or even go back to work."

While a tubal ligation requires general anesthesia, the Essure procedure is done with local anesthetic. During the procedure, doctors use a thin, telescope-type instrument called a hysteroscope and insert it through the cervix to reach the fallopian tubes. A camera on the end of the scope allows them to see into the uterus. Doctors place a small, soft coil in the fallopian tube, where it expands and fills the tube. Doctors then move to the other side to place another coil in the other tube. The entire procedure takes less than 30 minutes.

While the procedure itself is quick, it takes longer for the scar tissue to develop and permanently block the tubes. Women must use another form of contraception for at least three months. They also need to return 12 weeks after the procedure to have a special x-ray to confirm that the tubes are closed...cont'd

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/04/030421083818.htm

[LWolf]

1. Does it leave the little coil in there permanently?

I'm curious about the long term effects; what happens 20-30 years down the road during/after menopause?

I don't remember a particularly long recovery period from my laparoscopy in 1988; home within a few hours on a Friday, light duty Saturday and Sunday, back to work on Monday. But I would have jumped on something that didn't knock me out and cut me open!

[Nancy Waterman]

2. Whatever happened to the IUD?

I used it for 10 years with no trouble, had it removed and got pregnant almost immediately, as I wanted to. I know there were some law suits in the US and the manufacturers chickened out for usei n the US. But it is far healthier than using the pill. I would guess it is still widely used in Europe, but I don't know.

BTW, I recently saw an ad for anew type of pill that causes a woman to have only 4 periods a year. I can't imagine anything worse to do to a healthy body than screw so royally with her hormones.

[Desertrose]

3. I saw that ad too...made me shudder

4 periods a year?

I find it very sad that women have been taught to be annoyed at the "monthlies" . They have been made into this horrible hated thing that must be "endured". All the ancient wisdom relating to a womans cycle has been eliminated -- no more honoring time & tide of our moon cycle.

It can be one of the most powerful times in a womans cycle and yet it is relegated to cutesy TV ads for products that in the long run are often not beneficial to a women's well being.

Again I feel it comes back to the patriarchy of this society....make women more like men...or if that can't be done...make them like prepubescent boys. Take away what makes them uniquley special...it just seems so sad to me, so many young women b believing all the stuff from the media.

FYI- in Native Am society...they did not have the women sit outside the circle or lodge when they were on moontime because they were unclean...it was because the woman's power would outshadow the man's. Moon lodges were places of power- not shame.

[LWolf]

7. Patriarchy...it's time to leave it behind.

It's time to let go of preconceived ideas of femininity/masculinity, and just honor people for who and what they are.

Women's cycles are all about feminine energy. They follow the moon; they not only sychronize with the lunar cycle, they synchronize with each other. Women who spend regular time together will cycle together. There is a certain quality to the energy of a group of sisters together; it's easy to understand how powerholders would want to suppress that energy.

I'm sitting here thinking that, instead of the duality/dominance of male/female energy, what an awesome creation it is to merge them into one. I'm not sure if that thought belongs in that other thread in this group, or in the lounge, lol.

[Dover]

4. I think one of the issues with the IUD was that it sometimes caused

infection or (as with the spring) it would cause scar tissue to build around it.....but not in a very good place.

[LWolf]

6. My mom had some serious trouble with an IUD;

in the 70s, if I remember correctly. Excrutiating pain, fainting, hemmoraging...it didn't last long. Of course, she wasn't a good candidate to begin with; she already had serious scar tissue, cramping, and other issues from a decade-old procedure.

I never considered one, mainly because I witnessed my mom's reaction at an impressionable age.

[Beaverhausen]

5. I heard they use that same coil in heart patients and have had no problems

Wonder if the fundies will approve of this?