Critical assessment of dilatation and curettage in 1029 women

Of 1029 dilatation-and-curettage operations carried out in a 12-month period, more than half were in women aged under 40, and 38% were for menstrual disturbances. The yield of intrauterine disease in these groups was low--curettage for post-menopausal bleeding or discharge in 150 women detected 15 endomettrial carcinomas and a similar number of other endometrial lesions. The complication-rate resulting from curettage was 1.7%--i.e., equivalent to the overall rate of detection of endometrial carcinoma. Selection of patients submitted to uterine curettage could be better, but postmenopausal bleeding remains an indication for mandatory uterine curettage.