Abortion type Surgical UK Eng. & Wales 5% (2005) | First use 1970s | |
In methods of abortion, dilation and evacuation (D&E also sometimes called dilation and extraction) is the dilation of the cervix and surgical evacuation of the contents of the uterus. It is a method of abortion as well as a therapeutic procedure used after miscarriage to prevent infection by ensuring that the uterus is fully evacuated.
Contents
In various health care centers it may be called by different names:
D&E normally refers to a specific second trimester procedure. However, some sources use the term D&E to refer more generally to any procedure that involves the processes of dilation and evacuation, which includes the first trimester procedures of manual and electric vacuum aspiration.
Reasons to use D&E
Dilation and evacuation (D&E) is one of the methods available for a second-trimester abortion. A D&E is done to completely remove all of the tissue in the uterus for an abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy.
A D&E is recommended for women diagnosed in the second trimester with a fetus that has severe medical problems or abnormalities. Abnormalities such as severe neural tube defects or congenital heart anomalies are typically diagnosed by ultrasound during weeks 18-23, because detailed anatomy cannot be fully evaluated before that time due to requirements for fetal size.
When an abortion is delayed, a D&E may be necessary.
Approximately 11% of induced abortions are performed in the second trimester. In 2002, there were an estimated 142,000 second-trimester abortions in the United States. The second trimester of pregnancy begins at 13 weeks gestation. For first-trimester and early second-trimester abortions, the pregnancy may be ended by vacuum aspiration alone. Sometimes in the second trimester, however, it becomes necessary to use instruments to remove the fetus. This instrumental procedure is normally what is meant when the term dilation and evacuation is used.
Description
The first step in a D&E is to dilate the cervix. This is often begun about a day before the surgical procedure, and often involves the insertion of multiple laminaria sticks into the cervix. Enlarging the opening of the cervix enables surgical instruments such as a curette or forceps to be inserted into the uterus.
The second step is to remove the fetus. Either a local anesthetic or general anesthesia is given to the woman. A cannula is passed into the uterus. The cannula is attached by tubing to a bottle and a pump that provides a vacuum to remove the amniotic fluid from the uterus. Usually, a second trimester fetus is too large to be removed from the uterus by suction alone. Forceps are inserted into the uterus through the vagina and either an arm or leg of the fetus is grasped and pulled off the body of the fetus and out of the vagina. After the four limbs are removed, the forceps are used to crush the head of the fetus so that it will be small enough to be evacuated from the uterus. This is more likely in pregnancies of 16 weeks or more. A curette is used to scrape the lining of the uterus and remove tissue in the uterus. Lastly, the vacuum is used to ensure removal of fetal body remains in the uterus (such fetal remains can cause serious infections in the woman). The pieces of the fetal body are reassembled to ensure that the entire fetus was removed and there are no remaining body parts in the uterus.
Variations
The standard D&E procedure is difficult after 20 weeks gestational age due to the toughness of the fetal tissues.
If the fetus is removed intact, the procedure is referred to as intact dilation and extraction by the American Medical Association, and referred to as "intact dilation and evacuation" by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). When this intact evacuation is done with a live fetus which dies midway through, it has also been termed a partial birth abortion.
Law
In 2015 Kansas became the first US state to ban the dilation and evacuation procedure for abortions. The law was struck down in January 2016 without ever having gone into effect.