The letters, she later learned, stood for bilateral tubal ligation, a form of sterilization.

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Approximately 700, 000 women in the U.S. have tubal ligation surgery each year.

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"The Essure procedure is typically performed as an outpatient procedure and is intended to be a less invasive and a less costly alternative to tubal ligation, the leading form of birth control worldwide, " says Oberweis.

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