The Difference Between Surgical Abortion and Medication Abortion

by Emily Scott Emily Scott

Surgical or aspiration abortion involves a doctor using a gentle suction method to remove the pregnancy and the blood from the uterus.

Medication or medical abortion involves the doctor giving the patient two pills to disrupt the pregnancy. The first pill given is called Mifepristone, and it’s followed by Misoprostol, which is taken at home after 24 to 48 hours. This makes the uterus contract, forcing it to remove the pregnancy and blood from the uterus.

To choose between the two options, patients need to learn about the differences between each, decide the option that’s best suited for them, and then follow the advice of their ob-gyn.

Surgical Abortion

Surgical abortion has a success rate of 99% and can be performed as early as 5 weeks from the first day of the patient’s last period. Most patients will need to visit the abortion and gynecology clinic one time. The appointment will take around 2 to 3 hours and include counseling, the surgical procedure, and the recovery time.

The entire surgical procedure takes around 7 to 8 minutes to complete. Patients may experience strong cramps lasting a few minutes during and after the surgical procedure. The doctor administrating the procedure will give them local anesthesia, painkillers, and/or conscious sedation for pain management.

The patient undergoing this abortion will continue to experience milder cramps for several days to weeks and bleeding that may or may not be severe. The bleeding begins a few days after the procedure and can continue for several weeks. However, some patients may not bleed at all.

Surgical abortion doesn’t affect the patient’s ability to conceive later. The chance of the procedure affecting fertility is one in 10,000 or even rarer than that. Patients can become pregnant again immediately after the surgical procedure. The ob-gyn will discuss different birth control methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the future.

Surgical abortion is unlikely to fail, with one in 300 chances of a patient undergoing it again. The need to repeat the procedure is due to the formation of blood clots or leftover tissue in the uterus. Surgical abortion is safe, with no serious complications after the procedure. Only a few patients reported experiencing side effects such as nausea, vomiting, or dizziness, but for a short duration.

Medication Abortion

Medication abortion has a success rate of 98% at a one-week follow-up, and it can be performed as soon as the patient finds out that they are pregnant. It can be performed up to 9 weeks and from the first day of the patient’s last period.

The patient requiring this abortion will visit the gynecology and abortion clinic two times, followed by a one-week follow-up. Some patients might have to visit the clinic three times. By the one-week follow-up, the abortion will be 95% completed. Most patients will pass out the pregnancy tissue within a few hours of using the second medicine.

Patients will experience mild to strong cramping after the medication abortion procedure and experience the worst cramps with the release of the pregnancy tissue. The doctor will prescribe medications to take at home for pain management. Some patients may experience mild cramps for several days to weeks, whereas others may not.

Patients will experience heavy bleeding and clots during the procedure with bleeding and/or spotting up to their next period after the procedure. Medication abortion doesn’t affect the patient’s fertility unless a rare complication arises during the procedure. They can become pregnant immediately after the procedure.

Their ob-gyn will discuss different birth control methods they can use to prevent unwanted pregnancies in the future. If they choose to go on birth control pills, they should start taking after taking Misoprostol. If they opt for an IUD insertion, they can get it once the follow-up appointment confirms that they’re no longer pregnant.

Since there’s a one in 100 chance of the abortion failing, doctors may require the patients to undergo an aspiration procedure. Around 4 in 100 patients will need to take the second pill twice or get an aspiration procedure.

Medication abortion is safe with the risk of a serious infection or excessive bleeding occurring quite low. It’s also rare to be allergic to abortion pills. Around 5% of patients will need or opt for an aspiration procedure.

Which Option Should You Choose?

You can discuss both options with your ob-gyn, and they can answer your questions and provide you with more detail on each type of abortion method.

Author Bio

Family Planning Associates Medical Group is a gynecology and abortion clinic providing abortion, birth control, STD testing, free pregnancy testing, annual exams, and ob-gyn services in Chicago.