Despite the widespread and undeniable popularity of the Essure birth control device, more and more women are coming forward with reports of serious Essure complications. Some women are choosing to file product liability lawsuits over these Essure complications against the device’s manufacturer, Bayer Healthcare, alleging that the medical company failed to give adequate warning to both the public and the medical community about the serious Essure complications linked with its device.

Basics of Essure

The Essure birth control device was designed as an alternative for women who wanted to have permanent birth control, but did not want to undergo surgical tubal ligation. In just the few years since its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2002, the Essure device has been implanted in around 750,000 women.

The Essure device is small and simple, made up of two metal coils and lined with a thin fabric material. The procedure to implant Essure is simple as well, and is done as an outpatient procedure, even in a doctor’s office.

The metal coils are placed in the woman’s fallopian tubes with no incision and no anesthesia required. Once the Essure implantation procedure is over, it takes a few months for the coils to effectively prevent pregnancy. This time is necessary to allow the coils of the device to expand, as well as to allow the tissue surrounding the device to grow in around it, blocking the fallopian tubes.

Despite the simplicity and popularity of the device, some patients allege that the device is actually linked with some serious Essure complications. Women claim to have used Essure expecting a simple and low-risk device but have ended up suffering from a number of painful and even dangerous side effects.

Essure Complications

Any medication or medical device will come with certain mild side effects, and Essure is no exception. However, many women who were implanted with Essure claim that Essure complications are actually more harmful than reasonable expectation allows. So far, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports having received over 5,000 reports of women suffering from serious Essure complications so far.

More minor Essure complications include things like headaches, dizziness, vomiting, cramps, abdominal or back pain, fatigue, weight fluctuation, and pain during sex, and these are more commonly reported problems. Major Essure complications include implant failure, device migration, organ perforation, device fracture, and ectopic pregnancy.

Some patients who have suffered from these kinds of Essure complications require removal surgery to alleviate symptoms. But removal surgery can carry its own risks, such as infection, further injury, and of course the additional medical expense.

Filing an Essure Complications Lawsuit

According to Essure lawsuits, Bayer Healthcare failed to adequately warn patients and the medical community about these major Essure complications, instead choosing to actively withhold this valuable information. Plaintiffs allege that, had they been adequately informed of these major Essure complications, they would never have been implanted with an Essure birth control device in the first place, avoiding these risks altogether.

If you or someone you love has suffered from any of these Essure complications, you may be able to file an Essure lawsuit against Bayer. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by Essure complications, it can help to compensate for the financial cost of medical expenses and lost wages.