Presentation
Woman from China had ureteroscopic lithotripsy and double-J ureteric stenting due to right-sided hydronephrosis. A KUB xray was requested to check the position of the double-J stent.
Patient Data
A double-J ureteral stent was placed at right ureter and a ring structure was found in pelvis with a diameter of 2.3 cm.
Case Discussion
The ring is a stainless steel intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD) which was placed after an uneventful delivery of her pregnancy in China. The ring IUCD was widely used as a method of birth control for implementing the one-child policy in China. Rather than the conventional T-shaped or spiral copper IUCD, the ring IUCD is usually made of stainless steel due to the low cost of production and difficult to remove due to its circular structure. So predominant was the ‘steel ring’ that even today Chinese generally refer to any IUCD as a ‘ring’. It is estimated over 50 million Chinese women underwent the ring IUCD insertion.