title: A rare and unexpected case of retained foetal bone after an unsafe abortion.
abstract: Unsafe abortion is one of the most neglected healthcare problems in developing countries. One of the rare complications of unsafe abortion is retained foetal bone. Prevalence of disease is around 0.15% among patients undergoing diagnostic hysteroscopy. Patients have no specific symptoms. Case reports have focused on subfertility, abnormal uterine bleeding, lower abdominal pain, abnormal vaginal discharge, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhoea and spontaneous passage of bony fragments. Retained foetal bone fragments may cause acute pelvic inflammatory disease in rare cases regardless of the time interval after abortion. This condition can also present as recurrent vagitinis or endometritis refractory to ampirical antimicrobial treatment. In such cases, foreign body in uterine cavity should be kept in mind. Such patients should primarily be evaluated by ultrasonography which has substantial clinical importance in differential diagnosis of these cases. We present a case of misdiagnosed retained foetal bone complicated with recurrent vaginal discharge and acute pelvic inflammatory disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pamukkale University, Medical Faculty Hospital, Denizi, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Demirtas
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kocaeli Derince Research and Training Hospital, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Terzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kocaeli Derince Research and Training Hospital, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kale
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kocaeli Derince Research and Training Hospital, Kocaeli, Turkey.
authors.forename: Bahar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sanibrahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pamukkale University, Medical Faculty Hospital, Denizi, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer Tolga
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Guler
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D006801:Humans; D000292:Pelvic Inflammatory Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D014627:Vaginitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology*
keywords: Pelvic pain, Retained foetal bone, Recurrent vaginal discharge.