Beyond Mirena Uterine Perforation, An IUD That Travels

Morris County, NJMuch has been written about the benefits of so-called “long-acting reversible contraceptives” such as IUD devices like Mirena, with the IUDs leading the way with 8.5 percent of US women, according to the not-for-profit Guttmacher Institute. USA TODAY (10/30/12) cited recent federal data that agreed with the Guttmacher finding. Implanted in the uterus, the Mirena IUD contains the hormone progesterone and lasts five years. Women like it because you can literally “set it and forget it.” Doctors like it because it helps to lower unwanted pregnancy rates as the IUD removes the potential for missing a pill. But are they foolproof? No. There are Mirena birth control side effects.

Hormonal IUDs, according to USA TODAY, can cause irregular bleeding. And there have been incidents of Mirena uterine perforation and other adverse events when the IUD has actually migrated away from its original implantation point.

A lawsuit filed November 30 of last year in the Superior Court of New Jersey Law Division, Morris County (Docket No. MRS-L-2927-12) represents the story of one such Mirena IUD patient who was bullish about the device in July 2009, when she received the hormone-based IUD. There were no signs the device had perforated her uterus, which has been the case with other Mirena patients.

However, according to a summary released by PRWeb Newswire (12/13/12), upon attending her doctor for a follow-up exam in 2010, the plaintiff’s physician could not locate the IUD in the original location. An ultrasound also failed in locating the device.

Finally, an x-ray revealed the Mirena IUD had migrated from the original implantation point to the sacrum, which is the large triangular bone located at the base of the spine, according to the report. Laparoscopic surgery in January 2011 conclusively located the device and allowed for removal of the IUD, which was found behind the left ovary. Surgeons also found omentum adhesions and an ovarian cyst.

The Mirena birth control side effects lawsuit alleges that nowhere in Bayer Mirena warnings is any mention made of spontaneous migration of the Mirena IUD, beyond the possibility of Mirena uterine perforation at the point when the IUD is first implanted into the patient.

According to Business Wire (1/30/13), there have been no fewer than 45,000 reports of adverse reactions tied to Mirena IUD since the product was initially approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and burst upon the market. Women’s health advocates are also alarmed at the potential for even more adverse reactions now that Mirena IUD is available to a wider cross section of women, thanks to the Affordable Care Act.

Under the Act, insurers are now compelled to cover the costs of ALL contraception methods. Until now, IUDs were out of reach for many Americans due to their high cost - anywhere from $500 to $1,000. Now that such cost is no longer a factor, the Mirena IUD is available to anyone of child-bearing age.

According to USA TODAY, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is now recommending IUDs and implants as first-line contraceptive devices for both adult women and teens.

Will this result in more Mirena birth control side effects and Mirena uterine perforations? Time will tell…