Effectiveness of ultrasound-guided removal of intrauterine devices.

A retrospective review over 12 months was conducted to assess the success rates for ultrasound-guided removal of an intrauterine device (IUD). Cases were broken up into two groups. There were 241 cases in which removal had been unsuccessful in the office setting. Where the strings were not visible the device was successfully removed in 97.7% of attempts. The second group had visible strings and 100% were successfully removed. The success rate for ultrasound-guided removal of IUDs when the strings are not visible supports the pilot study published in 2012. This approach can successfully avoid the need for sedation and or hospital admission in over 97% of cases.