Manual or Vacuum Aspiration is the common surgical abortion procedure for the first trimester (5 to 12 weeks). Manual aspiration procedures use a specifically designed syringe that applies suction, while the vacuum aspiration procedure utilizes a hollow tube attached by tubing to a bottle and pump, providing a vacuum. In both instances, suction is utilized to remove your pregnancy from the uterine wall. During the procedure, you may feel cramping, nausea, sweating, or feel faint. 2
Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) is the common surgical abortion procedure for the second trimester (performed in the second 12 weeks). It is a combination of vacuum aspiration, dilation and curettage (D&C) and the use of surgical instruments (such as forceps). With this procedure, you are given a combination of a medical injection to the cervical area and a sedative. The procedure involves the use of vacuum aspiration (as described above), forceps to remove larger sections of the pregnancy, the use of a curved instrument (curette) to scrape the lining of the uterus, and the use of suction for a second time. 3