Prolonged retention of fetal bones: intrauterine device and extrauterine disease.

Abstract：

:A case of prolonged retention of fragments of fetal bones is reported in a 47-year-old woman. The pieces of bone, retained in utero for 8 years after an elective abortion, were unexpectedly discovered after total hysterectomy with adnexectomy performed for bilateral pyosalpinx, persistent vaginal discharge and severe pelvic pain. The role of this rare complication as a cause of infertility is also discussed. :Prolonged intrauterine retention of fetal bone parts is a rare complication of induced abortion, spontaneous intrauterine fetal death, and missed abortion. Here, a case of long-term retention of fetal bone fragments in a 47-year-old Italian women who underwent elective abortion 8 years earlier is reported. The patient was admitted for acute pelvic pain with purulent vaginal discharge. She reported recurrent episodes of abdominal and pelvic pain, meteorism, dysuria, nausea and vomiting, headaches, and irregular cycles with dysmenorrhea and inter menstrual bleeding since the 1979 abortion. Initially, pelvic inflammatory disease was diagnosed and antiphlogistic drugs were prescribed. When symptoms persisted after 10 days of drug treatment, the patient underwent a laparotomy that revealed pyosalpinx with extensive pelvic adhesions. Total hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy was performed. The uterine cavity was found to be closely packed with fragments that were determined at stereomicroscopic examination to be pieces of fetal bone. Of particular concern is the potential of this complication to lead to secondary infertility. The retained bone fragments can function similarly to an IUD by producing an increase in the local insertion of prostaglandins and preventing blastocyst implantation. Moreover, the retained fragments are an ideal substrate for bacterial colonization, which can spread to the tubes and destroy the functional integrity of the reproductive apparatus. Retention of fetal bones should thus be considered as a possible etiologic factor in cases of infertility of women with a history of abortion.