CHICAGO — Pregnancy with in vitro fertilization is possible in women who have previously undergone Essure hysteroscopic sterilization, Dr. John F. Kerin said at the annual meeting of the AAGL (formerly the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists).
Four women who had been previously sterilized with the device underwent in vitro fertilization, and three became pregnant. All three pregnancies were normal, and two of the women have delivered healthy babies without complications. The third patient is due in early 2006.
This is the first report of successful in vitro fertilization and childbirth after Essure sterilization, said Dr. Kerin, who was instrumental in Essure's development and is a consultant and principal clinical investigator for Conceptus Inc. in San Carlos, Calif., manufacturer of the device. “We've showed that the devices stay well away from the pregnancy sac during pregnancy,” he said in an interview.
Observations from 22 second-look hysteroscopies performed for incidental abnormal bleeding or polyps in women who had the Essure device placed 5 years earlier revealed that a progressive, consistent tissue encapsulation of the trailing portion of the device occurs so that it becomes totally encapsulated and compartmentalized away from the uterine cavity.
“We've done serial ultrasounds on the pregnancy sac, and the closest the proximal echogenic metallic device is to the sac is 10 mm away and separated by placental and decidual tissue,” said Dr. Kerin, a professor of reproductive medicine at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia.
Patrice Wendling