White plastic intrauterine device (IUD) and inserter. The device is held in place with paper tabs on a gray, blue, and white printed paper card. Instructions for insertion and removal are included and a pair of sterile gloves are attached to the back of the instruction sheet.
The Lippes Loop, a double-S, trapazoidal-shaped intrauterine device, was developed by OB-GYN Jack Lippes (1924 - 2022), a 1947 graduate of the University of Buffalo Medical School. The IUD was designed to closely fit the inside of the uterus and thereby reduce unwanted expulsion of the device. The IUD was made in several sizes: Loop Size A (22.5 mm with blue thread) was intended for nulliparous females only, that is, females who have not given birth. Lippes Loop was first marketed in 1962 and became one of the most prescribed IUDs in the United States. In 1985, Ortho Pharmaceuticals stopped marketing Lippes Loop due to reduced profitability and increased FDA regulation.
"Ortho stops marketing Lippes Loop; cites economic factors". Contraceptive technology update. 1985 Nov;6(11):149-52.
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