Thousands of women have undergone invasive surgery to remove contraceptive implants that were designed to be permanent, according to research for the implant files.
The Essure implant, made by Bayer, was marketed as a “gentler” non-surgical alternative to traditional sterilisation methods, with women told the procedure could be carried out in a GP’s surgery in 15 minutes.
However, a Dutch surgeon who has carried out nearly 500 Essure removals described how the implant turned into a “calcified nail” inside the body and reported cases of devices having pierced through internal tissue and migrated into the abdomen.
Source: Contraceptive implant surgically removed from thousands of women | Society | The Guardian