New Products

Newly approved extended-cycle OC is placebo-free

However, under the Seasonique extended-cycle regimen, a woman takes active tablets of 0.15 mg of levonorgestrel and 0.03 mg of ethinyl estradiol for the 84-day period, followed by 7 days of 0.01 mg of ethinyl estradiol. The regimen is also designed to reduce the number of menstrual periods to four per year, but without a hormone-free interval.

Device for pelvic organ prolapse

The Colpexin Sphere, an intra-vaginal device for the conservative management of weak pelvic floor muscles and pelvic organ prolapse (POP)-which can lead to stress urinary incontinence-is now available in the United States. According to Adamed Inc., a subsidiary of Warsaw, Poland-based Adamed Ltd., the product offers women with POP an alternative to surgery or to older treatments like vaginal pessaries that are hard to fit and remove.

The product is meant to be used in conjunction with regularly performed pelvic floor muscle exercises for helping to strengthen those muscles and is said to reduce POP when placed above the levator ani muscle.

To simplify fitting, the Colpexin Fitting and Sizing Tool Kit contains tools that correspond with Sphere diameters, says the Rutherford, N.J.-based company. The Sphere comes in five sizes ranging from 32 mm to 44 mm. Adamed also provides clinicians with educational materials to help instruct patients on proper use. For more information and complete prescribing information, visit http:// http://www.Colpexin.com/ or contact Adamed Professional Services at 1-866-871-9654.

New name, new products as company expands beyond speculums

FemSuite's new FemECC (far left), another disposable product, is an endocervical curette with a screw-like design. It enables you to obtain circular, coherent, contiguous, ribbon-like samples from the endocervix. Easy to use, it's more effective than a traditional "Kevorkian" in securing cervical tissue samples instead of mucus, the company says.

The company's new FemTest for endometrial biopsies, while similar to a standard pipelle, has a cone-shaped silicon "stop-cock" to seal the cervix. The product is designed to let ob/gyns inject liquids or gels like lidocaine into the uterus before a biopsy, eliminating discomfort and pain during the biopsy.