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" Question Eight weeks ago, I had a contraceptive coil (IUD) fitted.  I went for my check up to confirm the coil was in its rightful place but the doctor said that it wasn&amp;#039;t there. I have not noticed it drop out. What happens now?   Answer What she meant was that she couldn&amp;#039;t see or feel the thread of the intra-uterine device (IUD) &amp;amp;#8211; which should hang into the vagina.  It&amp;amp;#8217;s very common for threads to disappear. There are three possible reasons;   1. The thread has coiled up inside your cervix    2. The IUD has fallen out, although you haven&amp;amp;#8217;t noticed it    3. Much more seriously, the device has gone through the wall of the womb, and is now in your abdominal cavity.   Fortunately, this is quite rare. It&amp;amp;#8217;s very important to realise that if your IUD thread isn&amp;amp;#8217;t visible, then you don&amp;amp;#8217;t know whether the device is in the right place. Therefore, you have to consider the possibility that you might be pregnant. So if your period is overdue, please do a pregnancy test immediately.  At one time, &amp;amp;#8216;lost threads&amp;amp;#8217; were considered as nothing much to worry about. These days, doctors who specialise in IUDs are much more aware that a missing thread may indicate that something is wrong.  The doctor will usually proceed as follows:   She will begin by gently putting a slim &amp;amp;#8216;gripping&amp;amp;#8217; instrument into your cervix, to try and grasp the missing thread    If that fails, she will try to retrieve the thread with a small, sterile &amp;amp;#8216;hook&amp;amp;#8217; device, or a spiral-shaped instrument    If this does not work, she will organise an ultrasound scan to try and find out whether the IUD is in its correct place in your womb   If the ultrasound doesn&amp;amp;#8217;t make things clear, an X-ray of your lower abdomen may help.  If the device is nowhere in your body, then that&amp;amp;#8217;s ok, except that you will need another contraceptive method immediately.  But in the unlikely event that it&amp;amp;#8217;s somewhere inside your abdominal cavity, then you would need an operation to remove it.  However, let&amp;amp;#8217;s hope that all is well, and that the doctor will be able to determine that your IUD is in the right place.  Yours sincerely Dr David Delvin, GP   Other Qs &amp;amp; As Could taking out the coil damage my womb? Is it normal to bleed after a coil has been fitted? Is my coil making urination painful?   Last updated 14.08.2010 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/ask-the-expert/sexual-health/a2124/my-coil-has-vanished/>