Pregnancy after hysteroscopic sterilization

Article

Of the estimated 50,000 women worldwide who have been sterilized hysteroscopically with the Essure procedure (Conceptus, Inc., Mountain View, Calif.) since 1997, at least 64 have unintentionally become pregnant, according to the authors of a summary of the procedure's use to date.

Of the estimated 50,000 women worldwide who have been sterilized hysteroscopically with the Essure procedure (Conceptus, Inc., Mountain View, Calif.) since 1997, at least 64 have unintentionally become pregnant, according to the authors of a summary of the procedure's use to date.

The procedure involves placing hysteroscopically microinserts containing polyethylene terephthalate fibers into the fallopian tubes. The fibers promote a benign, localized tissue growth that typically occludes the tubes within 3 months.

As of December 2005, 64 unintended pregnancies were reported to the manufacturer of the device. While most of the pregnancies occurred in patients who did not receive proper follow-up after the procedure, some occurred because of misread hysterosalpingograms, undetected preprocedure pregnancies, and failure to follow product-labeling guidelines.

Levy B, Levie MD, Childers ME. A summary of reported pregnancies after hysteroscopic sterilization. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2007;14:271-274.

Recent Videos
Lisa Becht, MD, FACOG, sheds light on fertility awareness | Image Credit: havingbabies.com.
First US national HPV conference highlights advances in cancer prevention | Image Credit: uchealth.com.
Mitchell Creinin, MD, reports estetrol pill eases menstrual symptoms | Image Credit: health.ucdavis.edu
1 expert is featured in this series.
Susanna Mitro, PhD, reveals ethnic disparities in uterine fibroid diagnosis | Image Credit: divisionofresearch.kaiserpermanente.org.
Shayna Mancuso, DO, highlights the real impact of menopause | Image Credit: linkedin.com.
Jihong Liu, ScD, explains how to improve perinatal outcomes in COVID patients | Image Credit: sc.edu.
1 expert is featured in this series.
Jihong Liu, ScD, highlights adverse perinatal outcomes linked to the COVID pandemic | Image Credit: sc.edu.
Experts highlight infant health benefits from minor diet changes in pregnancy | Image Credit: ohsu.edu.
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.