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By Mayo Clinic staffDilation and curettage is performed in a hospital, clinic or your doctor's office, and it's usually done as an outpatient procedure. You'll likely spend a few hours after the procedure at the facility where it's done. Don't eat or drink anything before a D&C, and arrange for someone to help you get home because the residual effects of the anesthesia from the procedure may make you drowsy. You should be able to resume your normal activities within a day or two.
In some cases, your doctor may want to start dilating your cervix a few hours or even a day before your procedure to ensure that your cervix is opened gradually. This is usually done when your cervix needs to be dilated more than in a standard D&C, such as during pregnancy terminations or with certain types of hysteroscopy. In these instances, your doctor can dilate your cervix with medication that softens the cervix or by inserting a slender rod called a laminaria into your cervix. The laminaria gradually expands by absorbing the fluid in your cervix, causing your cervix to open.
- Guido RS, et al. Dilation and curettage. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 23, 2010.
- Sharp HT. Endometrial sampling/Dilation and curettage. In: Hillard PJA. The 5-Minute Obstetrics and Gynecology Consult. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:494.
- About D&C for uterine bleeding problems. American College of Surgeons. http://www.facs.org/public_info/operation/brochures/dncbleed.pdf. Accessed Nov. 29, 2010.
- Dilation and curettage. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp062. Accessed Nov. 29, 2010.
- Early pregnancy loss: Miscarriage and molar pregnancy. The American College of Ostetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp090.cfm. Accessed Nov. 29, 2010.
- Wieslander CK, et al. Therapeutic gynecologic procedures. In: DeCherney AH, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment Obstetrics & Gynecology. 10th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2391390. Accessed Nov. 29, 2010.
- Butler WJ, et al. Normal and abnormal uterine bleeding. In: Rock JA, et al. Te Linde's Operative Gynecology. 10th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:585.
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