Real Frisco

Historically there have been few choices when a woman decided that her family was complete. Traditionally if a woman had a vaginal delivery and wanted a “tubal” done, she would be taken to the O.R. after her delivery and given a spinal for anesthesia. The physician would make an incision in her belly button, root around for her fallopian tubes, and then remove segments of the tubes. Afterwards her abdominal incision would be closed with suture and bandaged. I can tell you from experience that the only complaints I would get for the next week would be about the discomforts from the tubal and not the delivery. If a woman wanted to have a “tubal” at any other time then she would be taken to outpatient surgery and a laparoscope (a long, skinny telescope) would be placed into her abdomen, the fallopian tubes would be located and either a clip would be used to occlude them, or they would be cauterized with electricity and heat. Thousands of women have had this procedure done. They are left with one or two small scars on their tummies and some mild to moderate post-operative discomfort that requires a narcotic prescription. Obviously both of these procedures have risk (abdominal surgery), pain (requiring narcotics for relief), and require significant anesthesia and its inherent risk. For this reason, I have had thousands of conversations with husbands about seeing their urologist and getting their vasectomy. “Take one for the team”, I’d tell them. About a quarter of them would. The rest would either make an appointment (or several appointments) and ‘no show’, or they would use the ostrich technique and bury their head in the sand, hoping their wives would forget about it and get back on pills. Passive aggression is a powerful tool.

Fortunately for women there is a fantastic option. Imagine being able to have a permanent solution for contraception that does not require ANY incisions, does not require general anesthesia or a spinal, has a better track record than any other contraception, and can be performed in your physician’s office in about fifteen minutes. That option is ESSURE and by now I’m sure that most of you have heard about it on TV or in advertisement in most popular woman’s magazines. It’s THE way to have a “tubal” in the 21st century. The days of the post partum tubal ligation through a two inch incision into the abdomen are over.

ESSURE is by no means a “new or untested” procedure. It was first introduced in trials in 1996. It was granted FDA approval in 2002, which is when I performed my first ESSURE. To date there have been over 250,000 done. There have been ZERO pregnancies after the ninety-day healing time (a traditional “tubal” takes six weeks to heal) and ECT (essure confirmation test). There is no form of contraception on the planet today, short of a hysterectomy, which can boast those kinds of results. And it’s all done without incisions, the expense of a hospital admission or the risk and recovery from general anesthesia. The cost to the patient is lower in my office as well. Where the hospital may charge the patient several thousands of dollars up front, I’ve had patients do their ESSURE for as low as a co-pay.

So what is ESSURE. Basically it is a 4cm long flimsy titanium coil with a Dacron core (both materials have been used extensively in surgical devices for decades). The coil holds the ESSURE in place while the Dacron induces a healing process that gently closes the tubes over the next three months. It is placed through a hysteroscope, a small narrow telescope placed into the uterus via the cervix.  The gynecologist can see the openings to the fallopian tubes from within the uterus and guides the devices into the tubes and deploys them. Personally it justifies every video game I’ve ever played. I admit it. Putting in ESSURES is fun to do. I’ve been placing them for seven years and have become a proctor/educator for ESSURE.

Please go to www.essure.com for more information as well as a patient video.

Good luck and please don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions.

George B. Branning, MD, FACOG

Texas Obstetrics and Gynecology Associates

Caring for Generations of Texas Women

5757 Warren Parkway

Suite 310

Frisco TX   75034

We are located in Professional Building 2 on the campus of Baylor Medical Center at Frisco. You can’t miss us, we’re the huge building that doesn’t look like a hospital near the corner of Warren and Legacy. In fact, most people pass us up thinking that Baylor Frisco is a European style spa or hotel.

1.                  Minimal waiting times to see a doctor with our open access scheduling.

2.                  Minimally Invasive Surgical Intervention. Both of the doctors are extensively trained in these techniques as well as the daVinci Robot.

3.                  Complete Women’s Health Care

4.                  Contraceptive Management

5.                  In office procedures, such as ESSURE and HTA (Hydrotherm Ablation/Endometrial Ablation).

6.                  Infertility evaluation

7.                  4D Ultrasound

8.                  The friendliest staff in Frisco.