To assess the relative efficacy of three disposable plastic instruments in the retrieval of 'missing' IUCD threads.A prospective randomised comparative single centre study.Family Planning Clinic in London, UK.217 of 350 IUCD users referred to the research team with 'missing' IUCD threads entered the study.All women initially underwent exploration of the endocervical canal with Spencer Wells forceps. When this procedure did not retrieve the threads, the patients were entered into the study. A maximum of two randomly chosen plastic IUCD thread retrievers were then used in any one patient to explore the uterine cavity and capture the 'missing' threads. The order in which the two retrievers were employed was also determined at random. Four separate entries into the uterine cavity were permitted with each instrument, the endocervical canal being explored with Spencer Wells forceps after each retraction of the instrument to identify the possible descent of the threads.Threads brought down beyond the external cervical os, or threads brought to within the endocervical canal and then grasped by Spencer Wells forceps.In approximately 40

作者：W, Bounds；S, Hutt；A, Kubba；K, Cooper；J, Guillebaud；G B, Newman

来源：British journal of obstetrics and gynaecology 1992 年 99卷 11期