Extraovular instillations of normal saline for termination of midtrimester pregnancy

Midtrimester abortion by extraovular instillation of normal saline was performed in 50 patients. All 50 aborted following the procedure, and there were no complications except for one case of endometritis that was successfully treated by antibiotics. The mean abortion time was 33 hours, without added oxytocin, and 30 hours when pitocin was administered intravenously. The extraovular route eliminates the necessity for amniocentesis, with its associated risks. By using normal saline instead of pharmacologic agents such as urea, glucose, hypertonic saline, prostaglandins, we were able to eliminate the complications related to drug side effects.