Estradiol implants for conception control.

Oral contraceptives are associated with serious untoward effects and have been proscribed for woman over 35 years of age. It was thought that the use of a natural estrogen (pellets of 25 mg of 17 beta-estradiol) implanted in descending doses (four, three, two, one) at 6-month intervals might cause less disturbance in metabolic parameters and side effects. Our experience with this regimen encompasses 18,480 cycles of 1,540 women years. The corrected Pearl index was 0.273, which compares favorably with other modes of conception control. Pellet implants proved to be quite acceptable to those who could not tolerate oral contraceptives.