Patient's question:
I have been on medication abortion for a month, but it hasn't been completely cleaned out yet. I need to have a D&C procedure. Is the D&C very painful? Is the procedure complex?Doctor's answer:
If medication abortion fails, a Dilation and Curettage (D&C) procedure may be necessary. It is similar to induced abortion, but slightly simpler, as it only involves removing residual tissue.Recommendation: The surgery is performed in two steps. The first step is to dilate the cervix to an adequate size. The second step involves using a curette to scrape the embryo out of the uterine cavity.
The longer the pregnancy duration, the larger the fetus becomes. This requires the cervix to be dilated to its maximum extent to remove the fetus, making the procedure more difficult. Additionally, as the pregnancy progresses, the uterus becomes softer, increasing the risk of uterine perforation during surgery.
Therefore, D&C is generally only recommended for pregnancies within three months. It is not advisable to perform the procedure if the pregnancy exceeds three months.