Lakeshore Tubal Reversal Center was the first to reverse an Essure Tubal Ligation on November 5th, 2007. Our first “Essure” baby was born on January 27th, 2009. This was widely reported in the press because of the reported inability to reverse, as Essures are supposed to be permanent and impossible to reverse. They are coils of Nitalloy that are put in the tubes where the tubes enter the uterus. Most other types of tubal ligation block the tubes outside of where they go into the uterus. The two coils are very fragile (about the width of pencil lead) and need to be carefully removed so they don’t break apart.
The anatomy of the uterus is easy to understand if you imagine your upper body as a uterus and forget about your legs, head, and neck. Your tubes come out of the uterus like your arms come out of your shoulder. This is where your tubes are blocked by an Essure. Other tubal ligations are done out in the tubes, like where your elbow is in your arms.
When we perform an Essure reversal, the first thing we do is remove the part of the device that’s in the tube. The second step is to remove the part that is in the wall of the uterus and in the uterine cavity where the baby grows. This second step is tricky because if you break the Essure, you need to know how to get the pieces out. The next step is to put the tube back in the hole in the uterus where it naturally goes, restoring the normal anatomy. Before the tube is put in its natural position, we have recently started putting a material that prevents closure of the tube. This material dissolves in a week or so and we have seen a remarkable increase in pregnancies since we started this extra step. The last thing, before you wake up, is to look inside your womb with a tiny telescope to see if the tubes are properly inserted and make sure there are no pieces left behind.
These reversals haven’t worked as well as a regular reversal but we are getting better results all the time. Last year we did 5 Essure reversals and 2 of them are already pregnant. This is a new surgery. As I said, Dr. Turner and I were the first to do this so we had to invent the technique. The way we perform it does not weaken the uterus, so you will not have to have a Cesarean section because of this surgery.
