“[D & Es] the procedure typically used for later abortions, have always been somewhat problematic because of the toughness and development of the fetal tissues. . . . I kept doing D&Es because that was what I was comfortable with, up until 24 weeks. But they were very tough… I noticed that some of the later D&Es were very, very easy. So I asked myself why can’t they all happen this way. You see the easy ones would have a foot length presentation, you’d reach up and grab the foot of the fetus, pull the fetus down and the head would hang up and then you would collapse the head and take it out. It was easy. At first, I would reach around trying to identify a lower extremity [i.e., a foot] blindly with the tip of my instrument. I’d get it right about 30-50 percent of the time. Then I said, ‘Well gee, if I just put the ultrasound up there I could see it all and I wouldn’t have to feel around for it.’ I did that and sure enough, I found it 99 percent of the time. Kind of serendipity.”
- 22 to 24 weeks
.”2nd Trimester Abortion: An interview with W. Martin Haskell, MD, Cincinnati Medicine Fall 1993
Share on Facebook