[Interruption of pregnancy by vacuum aspiration or uterotomy. Intra- and postoperative complications]

From 1971-1977, 1097 pregnancy-interruptions were performed by vacuum-aspiration and 152 by uterotomy. In 93,3% of the patients a psychiatric indication was registered and in 6,7% the interruption was medicosomatically indicated. Surgery was done under stationary conditions in anaesthesia with halothane/N2O. 39,5% of the women operated were unmarried, 34,1% primigravides and 39,7% without children. Before the undesired pregnancy approximately half of the patients did not practice contraception. The average interval between first visit to the doctor and interruption was 18,9 days. 77% of the vacuum-aspirations were performed in pregnancies of 10 to 12 weeks, 42,7% of the uterotomies after the 12th week. Simultaneous sterilization was undertaken in 35,9% of the cases after vacuum-aspiration. The rate of complications of vacuum-aspiration was 25,8%, after uterotomy 16,5%.