What Are the Risks of Abortion?
Infection, Pain, Fever: It is extremely important that the environment where the abortion is performed is clean and sterile, and that the instruments are disposable and sterile, so that the patient does not become infected. At the same time, not using the drugs given to the patient, the patient’s sexual intercourse or entering the sea and pool without taking the necessary warnings prepare the ground for infection. In this regard, it is the basic principle to follow the rules told by the doctor. Infection may also be accompanied by pain and fever, in which case the patient should definitely contact his doctor. Post-procedure infection usually occurs on the third and seventh days, and infection may be accompanied by fever, pain and bleeding.
Remaining Pieces: Abortion must be done under ultrasound guidance, otherwise a piece may remain in the uterus unintentionally. In this case, a few days after the procedure, the patient may experience more bleeding than the menstrual bleeding. In this case, the doctor should be informed, the patient should be called for ultrasound again and an additional intervention should be performed if necessary.
Ascherman Syndrome (Adhesion in the Inner Uterine Wall): It develops as a result of digging the inner wall of the uterus more than necessary and with a metal curettage tool during abortion. These patients usually say that they do not menstruate even after 4 to 6 weeks after the procedure, and patients with such problems either do not have periods at all or see very little after that. This is a serious problem and one that can lead to infertility. Such situations are resolved with hysteroscopic interventions. For this reason, the physician performing the procedure should be careful so that such a situation does not develop in every patient.
Atony: Excessive bleeding may occur in curettages performed in advanced weeks of pregnancy. This situation develops mostly due to the uterine contraction. However, this is not uncommon in small pregnancies. In such cases, bleeding can be prevented by intervention. Therefore, necessary drugs and serums should be available.
Continuation of Pregnancy Despite the Process: Especially after abortions performed before the fourth and fifth gestational weeks, approximately 1% of the abortion procedure may fail and the pregnancy may continue as before the abortion. In this case, since the gestational sac is still very small, the pregnancy continues as the plastic vacuum cannula does not come into contact with the gestational sac, so the uterus does not empty, and the sac does not deteriorate. In such cases, abortion may be required again after about 1 week. In order to prevent such situations, it is necessary to be careful in the very early weeks of pregnancy, and the inside of the uterus should be checked with ultrasound during and after the procedure, and the patient should be informed about this.
After the procedure, nausea and vomiting due to anesthesia are observed, which responds quickly to treatment. The patient does not experience serious problems.
One of the situations that occur after abortion is the formation of a blockage in the cervix. In these cases, the patient usually does not have menstrual bleeding even after 5-6 weeks after the procedure, and this situation is accompanied by cramps and abdominal pains. This situation can be resolved by opening the adhesions in the cervix with a simple intervention.
Sometimes, uterine and intestinal perforation may occur due to the use of metal cannulas during abortion by inexperienced physicians.
Does Abortion Cause Infertility?
Adhesion to the inner wall of the uterus (Ascherman syndrome), which occurs as a result of abortions that are not performed scientifically and appropriately, causes serious infertility. For this reason, metal curettes should never be dug into the inner wall of the uterus unnecessarily. In addition, due to the infection, the damage and swelling that occur due to the spread of intrauterine infections both on the inner wall of the uterus and on the infection tubes, creates fluid accumulations and seriously affects the fertility of the patient. Sometimes it causes infertility by forming scar tissue due to the remaining pieces in the uterus.