US Evaluation of IUD - Is 3-D Useful
Take Home Points
typical reasons for evaluating Intrauterine devices with ultrasound
- Pelvic Pain
- Missing IUD string
- Abnormal bleeding
what types of "malposition" do we encounter with iuds
- Expulsion: IUD completely out
- Displacement: Usually IUD is located too low in uterus or within the cervix itself
- Embedment: Portion of the device is embedded within the myometrium
- Perforation: Device is perforated through the myometrium and serosal layer of the uterus (Note: Some use terminology of "myometrial perforation" to describe embedment)
what methods should be employed to evaluated iuds with ultrasound
- Still images alone are often inadequate
- At minimum, we suggest that cine clips should be employed
- 3-D imaging has proven to be quite useful in the evaluation of intrauterine devices