PLEASE NOTE: TERRY BRYANT IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING NEW ESSURE CASES.
Since the early 2000’s, hundreds of thousands of women have turned to a tiny, coiled device as a supposedly safe and effective method of birth control. As many as 750,000 women have chosen the Essure implant for sterilization, largely because they were told the device involved a gentle, non-surgical procedure with little risk of side effects.
Unfortunately, the device has disrupted the lives of thousands of users and been the subject of intense public scrutiny and 16,000 lawsuits. The maker of Essure, Bayer, has repeatedly and consistently denied the allegations that the device causes users harm. However, the company announced in July 2018 that they were stopping all sales of Essure.
Bayer says that it will no longer offer Essure because sales have declined. Whether or not their decision is purely business-related, it’s clear that this device has spawned a storm of controversy and litigation that continues to plague Bayer.
Essure Keeps Bayer in the Crosshairs
Most recently, Bayer has received unwelcomed scrutiny from two sources. First is the release of a new Netflix documentary The Bleeding Edge, which focuses on the multibillion-dollar medical device industry and the questionable practices that occur within it. The Essure saga plays a prominent role in the film, which includes footage of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval hearings for the device and accounts of women who have suffered significant harm from Essure. The second bit of bad news for Bayer is a story from CNN highlighting $2.5 million worth of payments the company made from 2013 to 2017 to 11,850 doctors for services related to Essure. These arrangements aren’t illegal in our current system, but they are ethically questionable, and they don’t reflect well on Bayer, particularly when their product has been raising red flags among safety advocates for many years.A History of Complaints by Users
A former FDA medical device official said that there have been as many as 30,000 complaints of adverse effects stemming from Essure. Those adverse effects include a litany of complications, including:- Persistent pain
- Excessive bleeding
- Unintended pregnancy
- Miscarriage
- Autoimmune problems
- Hair loss
- Tooth decay
- Migration of the coils into the pelvis or abdomen
- Perforation of the uterus or fallopian tubes
- Allergic reaction.