Recovery of the intrauterine contraceptive device from the sigmoid colon. Three case reports

Abstract

3 cases of copper IUDs recovered during laparotomy from the sigmoid colon are presented. One woman was a 24-year old mother of 5 who had had 2 cesarean sections since the disappearance of her Cu-7 IUD in 1980. She had right upper quadrant abdominal pain for 1 year with gall bladder stones. The IUD was found lying 80% in the gut lumen. After colotomy she recovered. The 2nd woman was 31 years old, pregnant for the 4th time after failure of her IUD. She was experiencing a constant left iliac fossa ache. The IUD was shown to be extrauterine by ultrasound, could not be seen at laparoscopy, and was removed by colotomy. The 3rd woman was a 37-year old mother of 5, 19 weeks' pregnant, having a septic miscarriage on admission. She had labor induced, but the IUD was not expelled. Her pain worsened, and fever and tachycardia persisted. Emergency laparotomy revealed a perforated posterior uterine wall with the Cu-7 eroding the serosa of the sigmoid colon. It was removed but the defect was not repaired. She required a subtotal hysterectomy, and a second laparotomy with a temporary colostomy, and her recovery was complicated by pulmonary embolism and cardiac failure. These cases draw attention to the importance of proper management of patients with no visible IUD thread. Ultrasound, and if necessary x-rays and laparoscopy should precede laparotomy. Expulsion of an IUD is rarely unnoticed, nor should pregnancy with an IUD be assumed to be due to an expelled device.