Objective: Management of a retained intrauterine contraceptive device with no visible string during early pregnancy presents a dilemma. Because these devices are frequently used by multiparous women, it is not unusual that many women with retained devices are also of advanced maternal age. We describe our experience with ultrasonographically guided first-trimester retrieval of an intrauterine contraceptive device in conjunction with chorionic villus sampling.
Study design: Patients with a first-trimester pregnancy and a retained intrauterine contraceptive device where no string was visible were offered ultrasonographically guided retrieval of the device. If the patient had genetic risks and desired prenatal diagnosis, chorionic villus sampling was offered at the same office visit.
Results: Six patients underwent intrauterine contraceptive device retrieval, under continuous ultrasonographic guidance, by use of an intrauterine contraceptive device hook. All patients had a posterior or fundal device. One patient had two in situ: a Lippes Loop (Ortho Pharmaceutical Corp., Raritan, N.J.) removed by its string and a Cu-7 (G.D. Searle & Co., Chicago) removed under ultrasonographic guidance. The remaining five patients had a Cu-7. Four of six patients had chorionic villus sampling performed immediately after the intrauterine contraceptive device removal and one patient had chorionic villus sampling 3 weeks later. There were two losses in our series: one after a lengthy procedure and one before documented viability. All infants were structurally normal and born at term.
Conclusion: First-trimester ultrasonographically guided retrieval of a retained intrauterine contraceptive device may be safely performed in conjunction with chorionic villus sampling.