Essure permanent birth control reveals significant cost savings
This article was originally published in Clinica
Data are now available to show that Conceptus' minimally invasive permanent birth control system, Essure, leads to significant cost savings compared with traditional tubal ligation, the San Carlos, California firm has revealed.
Essure was associated with cost savings of 54% when performed in the physician's office, versus tubal ligation performed in the operating room, revealed one US study, conducted at the Montefiore Medical Center, in Bronx, New York.
In another US study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic found cost savings in the operating room when comparing the Essure procedure with tubal ligation. The cost-savings are largely attributable to lower hospitalisation costs for the Essure procedure, the company explained. Unlike tubal ligation, Essure does not require cutting or penetration of the abdomen and can be performed without general anaesthesia.
"Operating room costs are an underestimated, rapidly growing healthcare expenditure," noted Dr Mark Levie, of the Montefiore Medical Center. "The impact on healthcare system costs is considerable when you realise that 700,000 tubal ligations are currently performed every year in the US." Both studies were presented at this month's American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, in San Francisco, California.
The Essure procedure is marketed in Australia, Europe, Singapore, Canada and the US, where it was approved in November 2002. It involves deploying a soft micro-insert into the fallopian tube through the cervix using a minimally invasive transcervical tubal access catheter. Once in place, the device is designed to elicit tissue growth in and around the micro-insert to form an occlusion or blockage in the fallopian tube. A woman is able to return home around 45 minutes after the procedure is completed. The company claims that the procedure is 99.80% effective after three years of follow-up.