Products of conception

Products of conception, abbreviated POC, is a medical term used for the tissue derived from the union of an egg and a sperm.

The differential in suspected cases includes uterine atony, blood clot, gestational trophoblastic disease, and normal post partum appearance of the uterus.

Post partum blood clot is more common, reported in up to 24% of postpartum patients, and tends to be more hypoechoic than retained products with absent color flow on Doppler, and resolving spontaneously on follow up scans.

The normal post partum uterus is usually less than 2 cm in thickness, and continues to involute on follow up scans to 7 mm or less over time.

Still, surgical intervention may be carried out on the woman's request, if the bleeding is heavy or prolonged, or causes anemia, or if there is evidence of endometritis.

Micrograph of products of conception. Chorionic villi (right of image) and cartilage, i.e. fetal parts (left of image). H&E stain .
On gross pathology , the presence of chorionic villi (left) is diagnostic of products of conception, whereas decidua (right) is not.