Premium
Objective demonstration of cervical softening with a prostaglandin F 2 α gel during first trimester abortion
Author(s) -
Rath Werner,
Kühnle Henning,
Theobald Peter,
Kuhn Walther
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/0020-7292(82)90071-6
Subject(s) - medicine , cervix , abortion , cervical canal , cervical dilation , pregnancy , prostaglandin , uterine cervix , gynecology , obstetrics , softening , prospective cohort study , surgery , gestation , cancer , carcinoma , biology , genetics , statistics , mathematics
In a prospective study the cervix softening and dilating effects of intracervically applied prostaglandin F 2 α gel were investigated in 100 patients during induced abortion in the 7–12th week of pregnancy. A specially designed tonometer was used to measure the resistance of the cervical canal before as well as 6–8 h, 4 days and 5–6 weeks after gel application. The cervix of 99 patients proved to be freely passable without use of undue force for at least Hegar 8 after treatment. Measurements in 96 patients 5–6 weeks after the operation showed good general agreement with those values obtained before gel application. No spontaneous or operation‐induced lesions of the cervix occurred. Intracervical prostaglandin gel application proved itself to be a safe, practicable and gentle method for avoiding dilation‐induced complications during first trimester abortions.