Management of septic abortion

In their otherwise excellent article (Aug. 4 issue),¹ Stubblefield and Grimes mention the means of emptying the uterus in the case of a retained fetus from a midtrimester abortion. Unquestionably, as they state, an “experienced practitioner can usually evacuate the uterus successfully with curettage guided by ultrasonography,” but it should be emphasized that the major part of the retained secundines has to be removed with an ovum forceps. The suction curette will help mainly at the end of the procedure, to remove smaller fragments of tissue. Prostaglandins are highly effective in terminating second-trimester abortion, but they may.  . .