[Manual intrauterine aspiration in the treatment of incomplete abortion]

Manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is a method proposed for uterine evacuation in cases of incomplete abortion, using a syringe of plastic material to produce negative pressure. With this technique, we treated 122 cases of different types of abortion at The Instituto Nacional de Perinatología, and results obtained were compared with those of 126 women treated with standard dilation and curettage (D&C). The sociodemographic characteristics of the two groups were similar. Molar pregnancy and blind ova were more frequent in cases treated with MVA. Types of anesthesia used were similar in both groups with the exception of 10 cases of MVA, that received paracervical block. Four surgical complications occurred, one of hemorrhage in each group and two cases of incomplete evacuation in the MVA group. Histopathological examinations using morphometric techniques showed similar proportions, of fetal parts, villi, decidua, myometrial cells and blood clots for both groups. It was concluded that MVA is as effective and safe as D&C, it is easy to perform, and is not associated with important complications. It can be used as an advantageous option for the evacuation of molar pregnancy.