Manual vacuum aspiration: a safe alternative for the surgical management of early pregnancy loss

Manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) is an alternative to the standard surgical curettage, performed under local anaesthetic in the setting of a treatment room. The aim of our study was to assess the efficacy of MVA in the management of first trimester early fetal demise and first‐ and mid‐trimester incomplete miscarriage. This was a retrospective study of 246 patients who were scheduled to undergo MVA for first trimester early fetal demise and first‐ and mid‐trimester incomplete miscarriage. One woman was excluded in the analysis because of the procedure being abandoned prior to MVA. Efficacy of the procedure was 94.7% (232/245). Incomplete uterine evacuation was seen in 5.3% (13/245) patients. Although not widely used in the UK, MVA could be considered routinely, thus avoiding general anaesthesia and the need for access to theatre.