Dilation and evacuation: A preferred method of midtrimester abortion

A comparison between two methods of therapeutic termination of midtrimester pregnancies was perormed. Twenty-nine patients at 13 to 16 weeks' gestation underwent dilation and evacuation (D and E). A second group, of 29 patients at 16 to 19 weeks' gestation underwent therapeutic abortion by prostaglandin F2α instillation. There was a significantly lower complication rate (6.9% versus 55%) and a shorter hospital stay of 1 full day in the D and E group. Also, the blood loss was not significantly greater in the D and E group.