Mechanical dilation to remove incarcerated laminaria during a second trimester abortion

Cervical preparation with laminaria reduces complications with 2nd trimester dilation and evacuation. During a surgical abortion at 22 weeks, we could not remove laminaria manually or with ring forceps due to laminaria dumbbelling [1]. Without pushing laminaria into the uterus, we mechanically dilated the cervix and removed the incarcerated laminaria. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Laminaria is used for cervical preparation to reduce complications in second trimester dilation and evacuation procedures. In a surgical abortion at 22 weeks, laminaria dumbbelling presented a challenge in removal, leading to mechanical dilation of the cervix for extraction.