The Food and Drug Administration has restricted the sale and distribution of Bayer’s Essure permanent contraception device to only health care providers and facilities that provide patients with information about the risks and benefits of the device.
In an order issued April 9, the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health informed Bayer of the restrictions, citing a need to “provide reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the device.”
Bayer must implement the restrictions immediately and must ensure health care provider compliance.
“The FDA is taking this step after becoming aware that some women were not being adequately informed of Essure’s risks before getting the device implanted, despite previous significant efforts to educate patients and doctors about the risks associated with this device,” the agency said in a press release, adding that it “plans to enforce these requirements and will take appropriate action for a failure to comply, including applicable criminal and civil penalties.”
Essure, which is the only permanently implanted birth control device for women on the market that does not require a surgical incision, was approved in 2002 and has been associated with adverse events including perforation of the uterus and/or fallopian tubes, device migration into the abdomen or pelvis, persistent pain, and suspected allergic reactions or hypersensitivity. Some women have also reported headache, fatigue, weight changes, hair loss, and mood changes.
In 2016, based on product safety monitoring by the FDA, a postmarketing study was ordered, as was a boxed warning and a more comprehensive patient decision checklist to inform patients about the risk of adverse events.