A prospective study of the use of ultrasound in vaginal legal abortion before 20 weeks of pregnancy

SummaryUltrasound was used to assess the completeness of uterine evacuation following vaginal legal abortion in 53 patients. Placental tissue was retained in 13 out of 39 cases in the first trimester. Ultrasound was used during the procedure to aid evacuation of retained products in 3 cases. Fetal pacts were retained in 3 of the remaining 11 patients in the second trimester.Preliminary observations were made with a realtime ultrasound machine being used in the development of a trophoblastic villus sampling technique at our hospital. It was shown that products of conception were included in the study. All patients under-legal abortion.A prospective study was set up to determine the incidence and nature of retained products following legal abortion before 20 weeks of pregnancy.