Lack of efficacy of prehysterectomy curettage as a diagnostic procedure

From January 1, 1972, until December 31, 1980, 181 patients who underwent hysterectomy for benign disease at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital had uterine curettage performed immediately prior to the procedure. Of five endometrial carcinomas subsequently demonstrated in the hysterectomy specimens, only one had been discovered via the curettage. Even in this one case, the planned hysterectomy was not postponed or altered. Prehysterectomy curettage in patients without symptoms of uterine disease is a low-yield, inaccurate, time-consuming procedure which has little or no effect on intra-operative management and which should be replaced by preoperative endometrial evaluation by either office sampling techniques or formal curettage.