Prosan Flexi-T 300 Copper IUD

A hormone-free copper intrauterine device made by Prosan International B.V. in Arnhem, the Netherlands. The frame is polypropylene mixed with barium sulphate, which is what makes it visible on X-ray, and a copper wire of 99.9% purity and 0.3 mm diameter is coiled around the shaft, giving a copper surface of 300 mm². A single knotless monofilament thread is embedded in the shaft.

The plus is the size, not the copper

This is the point most listings get wrong. Flexi-T+ 300 and Flexi-T 300 carry the same 300 mm² of copper. What separates them is the frame: the plus measures 32 mm long by 28 mm wide, against 29 mm by 23 mm for the plain 300. Prosan indicates the two differently as a result - Flexi-T+ 300 for uniparous and multiparous women, and the plain Flexi-T 300 for uniparous and nulliparous women. They are not interchangeable, and the choice belongs to the doctor fitting it.

Specifications

• Copper surface - 300 mm², wire of 99.9% purity, 0.3 mm diameter, coiled around the shaft
• Frame - 32 mm shaft length, 28 mm transverse arms
• Material - polypropylene with barium sulphate, visible on X-ray
• Inserter tube - polypropylene, only about 3.5 mm in diameter, which is why Prosan states the Flexi-T can also be used where the endocervical canal is narrow
• Insertion - a one-hand push-in technique that uses no plunger; the tube carries a centimetre scale marked at 4, 7 and 10 cm and a cervical stop
• Hormone-free - the mode of action is copper, not hormones

How it is used

• Fitted by a doctor, in a clinic. It is not a self-use product and nothing here replaces the examination.
• The doctor measures the uterine sound length before fitting. Prosan lists a sound length under 6 cm as a relative contraindication for the Flexi-T+ 300, which is one reason the two sizes exist.
• Maximum time in place is five years. A new device can be inserted immediately after removal.
• It can be inserted on any day of the cycle. Prosan also recommends postcoital use as an emergency contraceptive within five days - again a decision for the doctor.
• After childbirth, Prosan gives 6 to 8 weeks, or later if the uterus has not fully involuted.
• Prosan asks for the device to be checked after the first cycle and again at about six months, preferably by ultrasound.

Good to know

Prosan describes the shape as fundus-seeking and anti-expulsive, designed from in vivo measurements of uterine cavities across ages and parity groups, and states that the physical properties usually mean no marked increase in menstrual pain or cramps - though heavier bleeding or spotting in the first one or two cycles is listed as a possible effect. Copper intrauterine devices are classified MR conditional; Prosan demonstrates safety at 1.5 and 3 Tesla under the conditions set out in its instructions. The full contraindications, warnings and side effects are in the physician leaflet supplied in the carton, and that leaflet and your doctor are the reference, not this page. Store at room temperature. Made in the Netherlands.