Retained fetal bones masquerading as an intrauterine device with missing threads

We present the case of a 26-year-old woman with retained fetal bones, discovered eight years after an induced mid-trimester abortion in a West African country. The patient had requested her general practitioner to change the intrauterine device (IUD) which she assumed had been inserted immediately post-abortion. No threads were seen on vaginal examination. A pelvic ultrasound examination showed features that were misinterpreted for an IUD in the cervical canal. At evacuation of the uterine cavity retained fetal bone fragments were recovered.