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Dilation and Curettage is a procedure performed by the widening of the mouth of the womb and removal of samples of womb lining for diagnostic purposes. Usually dilation and curettage procedure is done in a hospital on an outpatient or inpatient basis. The women are given anesthesia and her feet are placed in stirrups on a gynecological exam table. The gynecologist inserts a speculum into the vagina and locks it to hold the vagina as wide open as possible. The doctor begins passing metal dilators through the cervix until it is wide enough to insert a curette; after that scrapes off the top and sides of the womb. The material taken out by the curette is examined by a pathologist to determine if any disease is present. If he finds a form of disease and it is limited to the endometrium, and if scraping has been thorough enough, therapy and diagnosis have been accomplished in one step. The major problem with dilation and curettage procedure is that the gynecologist is “flying blind” and can puncture the uterus with the curette while missing a cancerous lesion a fraction of an inch away. This incident occurs in about 0.08% of all cases. Studies suggest that dilation and curettage is not 100% accurate.
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