What is the difference between uterine curettage and abortion?

As we all know, abortion is a means of stopping pregnancy and falls into the category of minor surgical procedures. After an abortion, if it is very successful, women only need to rest for a period of time before they can return to normal. However, if the abortion is not done cleanly, they may have to go to the hospital again for surgery, which will obviously cause more pain. In order to ensure that there are no hidden dangers, women sometimes choose to have a curettage. So, what is the difference between a curettage and an abortion?

The difference between curettage and abortion

Definition

Curettage and dilatation: A procedure to scrape out the lining of the uterus or the contents of the uterine cavity. This is a minor surgery commonly performed in obstetrics and gynecology and is one of the methods of artificial abortion. However, it still has certain risks and complications.

Abortion: Termination of pregnancy by artificial or medical methods within 3 months of pregnancy is called early pregnancy termination, also known as induced abortion. It is used as a remedy for unexpected pregnancy due to contraceptive failure. It is also used for those who need to terminate pregnancy due to illness or to prevent congenital malformations or genetic diseases.

Type

Curettage: Curettage can be divided into diagnostic curettage and therapeutic curettage.

Diagnostic curettage is suitable for endocrine abnormalities that require understanding of endometrial changes and responses to sex hormones. It is also suitable for diagnosing cervical cancer, endometrial cancer and other uterine malignancies.

Therapeutic curettage is mainly suitable for those who want to terminate the pregnancy in early pregnancy, and those who need to empty the uterine cavity due to incomplete abortion, missed abortion, retained placenta, hydatidiform mole, etc.

Artificial abortion: Artificial abortion can be divided into two methods: surgical abortion and medical abortion.

Commonly used methods include vacuum aspiration abortion, forceps curettage abortion and medical abortion.

The dangers of curettage

1. Cervical or endometrial adhesion: During uterine dilatation and curettage, if the scraping is too rough, causing injury or inflammation of the cervix or endometrium, it is possible to produce postoperative cervical or endometrial adhesions and cause menstrual abnormalities, such as amenorrhea or too little menstrual flow. In severe cases, infertility may occur in the future.

2. Incomplete abortion: If the operation is not performed completely, a small amount of fetal tissue will remain in the uterus, which may affect uterine contraction and cause continuous bleeding or cause adhesion, infection, etc. It is best to perform another careful surgery to remove the remaining tissue. Abnormal position or shape of the uterus is generally more likely to cause this sequelae.

3. Bacterial infection: If the instruments are not completely sterilized, or the surgeon himself does not pay attention to the aseptic process, it may cause intrauterine infection and even continue to spread upward to invade the fallopian tubes and pelvic cavity. In severe cases, it may cause ectopic pregnancy or infertility in the future.

Flow:

1. Having an abortion, especially multiple abortions, can cause complete adhesion of the cervix, leading to poor menstrual blood flow, which can cause a feeling of anal prolapse and lower abdominal pain;

2. It may cause menstrual disorders, excessive or insufficient menstruation, or even amenorrhea;

3. Multiple abortions in women will lead to poor resistance, anemia, and they will be more susceptible to gynecological diseases.