What happens before a dilation and curettage (D&C)?
Your healthcare provider will take a full medical history before a D&C. You should make sure they know what medications you take or about any allergies you have. Be sure to tell them if you suspect you’re pregnant. They may ask you to stop eating and drinking beginning the evening before a D&C.
Healthcare providers may recommend medication to soften and dilate (widen) your cervix before a D&C either by using a laminaria stick or by giving you a medication called misoprostol.
What happens during a dilation and curettage (D&C)?
Before the procedure, your provider will go over options for anesthesia with you. Your provider will recommend the best anesthesia option for you based on your medical history and why you’re having the procedure.
There are several options for anesthesia during a D&C:
- General anesthesia, where you’re asleep for the procedure.
- Regional anesthesia (like an epidural), which means you won’t have feeling from your waist down. You’re fully conscious with this type of anesthesia.
- Local anesthesia, which means only your cervix is numb. You’re awake and have feeling in all areas of your body other than your genital area.
After you receive anesthesia, your provider will begin the procedure. The steps of a D&C generally go like this:
- You lie on a table with your feet in stirrups, like during agynecologic exam.
- Your healthcare provider inserts a speculum into your vagin*. This device, shaped like a duck’s bill, helps open your cervix. A clamp helps hold your cervix in place.
- Your provider will use dilators, which are thin metal rods that start small and then gradually increase in diameter. The rods gently stretch your cervix until it’s wide enough to accommodate the instruments your provider needs to complete the procedure.
- Your provider uses a curette, a type of spoon-shaped scraping device, to clean out the tissue from your uterus. They sometimes use a thin suction device to get any remaining tissue.
- They may send a sample of the tissue to a lab for analysis.
How long does a dilation and curettage (D&C) take?
The procedure itself takes about five to 10 minutes. But the entire process takes longer due to receiving anesthesia and other preparations. You’ll also need to wait in the recovery room for a few hours after the procedure before you go home.
Is having a D&C painful?
You may feel cramps similar to menstrual cramps after a D&C. Over-the-counter (OTC) pain medication like acetaminophen (Tylenol®) can relieve the cramps.
Are you put to sleep for a D&C?
Maybe. It depends on your health history and the reason you’re having a D&C. Not everyone receives general anesthesia.
What happens after this procedure?
You’ll need someone to drive you home from the procedure. It’s normal to experience mild cramping and light bleeding (or spotting) for a few days after a D&C.
Use pads, not tampons, for the bleeding. Don’t begin having sex again until your healthcare provider tells you it’s safe to do so (usually about one week after the procedure). Until your cervix closes and returns to its normal size, you’re at a higher risk of bacteria entering your vagin* and causing an infection. Your provider will tell you when you can resume having sex and using tampons.
You should be able to get back to your regular activities after a few days.
If your provider sent a sample of tissue for analysis, you can expect results within a week. Ask your healthcare provider about when and how you may receive biopsy results.
You usually have a follow-up visit with your healthcare provider within two weeks.
FAQs
Reasons for D and C. D&C can be used as a diagnostic test or as a form of treatment for a range of conditions, for instance: A history of abnormal menstrual bleeding, such as heavy bleeding (menorrhagia), bleeding between periods or bleeding after menopause. Investigation of uterine infection.
Is having a D&C painful? ›
You'll probably be sedated or under anesthesia during the procedure, so you shouldn't feel any pain during your D&C. Most people will have only mild cramping or discomfort afterward. If your pain is getting worse, see your doctor right away.
What is the difference between miscarriage and D&C? ›
Dilation and curettage (D&C) is a procedure to remove tissue from inside your uterus. Health care professionals perform dilation and curettage to diagnose and treat certain uterine conditions — such as heavy bleeding — or to clear the uterine lining after a miscarriage or abortion.
Are you put to sleep for a D&C? ›
The type of anesthesia will depend on the specific procedure being performed. Some D&C procedures may be performed while you are asleep under general anesthesia, or while you are awake under spinal or epidural anesthesia. If spinal or epidural anesthesia is used, you will have no feeling from your waist down.
At what point would you need a D&C? ›
A D&C procedure may be done for different reasons, including to look for the cause of a problem, such as abnormal uterine bleeding; for treatment of a miscarriage or postpregnancy bleeding; or for first trimester abortion (pregnancy termination).
Is a DNC a hysterectomy? ›
Dilation and curettage (D&C) is a procedure to scrape and collect endometrium, the tissue inside the uterus. Dilation is the widening of the cervix which allows instruments to pass into the uterus, while curettage is the scraping of the uterine walls.
How many days should I rest after D&C? ›
The recovery from dilation and curettage (D&C) depends on the type of procedure and anesthesia administered. After the surgery, you will be made to rest for about 2-5 hours before going home. Generally, it may take 2-3 days for complete recovery. You can resume your daily routine within 1-2 days after the procedure.
How long does it take for uterine lining to rebuild after D&C? ›
The endometrium after D and C surgery may require 6 months to recover normal reproductive function, in terms of both live birth and PL. The extent of the damage to endometrial function is not found to be reflected in the endometrial thickness.
What are the odds of getting pregnant after a D&C? ›
The odds of pregnancy after a miscarriage appear to be similarly positive if you've had a D&C. In one study, 90% of women who had undergone a D&C procedure were pregnant within a year of starting to try again.
Can I get fingered after a miscarriage? ›
When the cervix is more open, the uterus is more prone to infection. This is why doctors recommend waiting at least 2 weeks after miscarriage to insert anything into the vagin*, including tampons, douches, and — yes — anything else that may penetrate.
Whether a D and C is painful depends on whether the person is awake during the procedure. Without sedation or anesthetic, it can be painful. Some feel little pain at all, while others feel considerable pain.
What should you not do before a D&C? ›
Additional preparations include:
- Most likely, you will be asked to not eat or drink anything after midnight the night prior to your surgery.
- The morning of your surgery, take a shower but do not shave.
- Remove any jewelry or piercings as these are best left at home.
- If you wear contacts, bring or wear your glasses instead.
Indications for a D&C in the pregnant patient include elective termination of pregnancy, early pregnancy failure, evacuation of a molar pregnancy, or suspected retention of products of conception. The pregnant D&C is usually performed with either manual or electric vacuum aspiration.
Is a D&C the same as an ablation? ›
Dilatation and curettage: A D&C procedure opens the cervix and scrapes or suctions the uterine lining to obtain samples for biopsy or remove abnormal tissues causing heavy periods. Endometrial ablation: Specialized devices destroy the entire uterine lining to permanently stop excessive bleeding.
How soon after D&C did you get pregnant? ›
In one study, 90% of women who had undergone a D&C procedure were pregnant within a year of starting to try again. Health practitioners once recommended that women wait three menstrual cycles before trying to get pregnant after a miscarriage.
