Susan Ballagh, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Eastern Virginia Medical School, is supervising a phase three clinical trial for this new form of female sterilization. According to Ballagh, the upside of this sterilization procedure is that no general anesthesia is required. It's an office procedure with local anesthesia.
Most women can resume normal activities within a few days.
Recovery from laparoscopic tubal ligation can take a week or more. Using a hysteroscope, the device is introduced through the cervix and placed in each fallopian tube by a physician. The body forms natural plugs around the device, blocking the passage of sperm to the egg. After three months, the uterus and fallopian tubes are X-rayed to ensure the devices are well placed and that no fluid leaks from the uterus into the tube. If no leak is visible, it is assumed that sterilization has been achieved.