[Immediate complications of surgical abortion]

Abstract

While medical abortion is now available in non hospital facilities, abortions by vacuum aspiration remain illegal in non hospital settings. It is therefore important to assess through the literature the real risks associated with this method. All the most recent and large-scale studies showed that legal abortion by vacuum aspiration is an extremely safe procedure. It is less risky than other medical or surgical procedures performed outside the hospital. According to the studies, the death rate varies from 0 to 0.7 per 100,000 abortions, and is smaller when the procedure is done under local anesthesia than general anesthesia. The overall early complication rate (hemorrhage, uterine perforation, cervical injury) is between 0.01 and 1.16%. Complications are not more frequent than with medical abortions. In view of these low complication rates, surgical abortion by vacuum aspiration could be performed outside the hospital setting in France, as it is the case in many other countries.