Ultrasound-guided Manual Vacuum Aspiration (USG-MVA)

This is a retrospective study to review the current experience of USG-MVA in Hong Kong and also evaluate the effectiveness of USG-MVA in cytological analysis in the management of first trimester miscarriage.

Miscarriage can be managed expectantly, medically or surgically. In cases where cytogenetic analysis is wanted, surgical evacuation is the ideal option as the POC is difficult to be obtained after medical evacuation. However, traditional surgical evacuation requires the procedure to be performed under general anesthesia using an electric vacuum aspiration (EVA). Moreover, the chorionic villi obtained via POC is often less intact and dispersed, making the identification and analysis difficult. Manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) was first introduced in 1973. The procedure is performed using a hand-held 60ml syringe to create the suction force and the intrauterine contents are aspirated using either a flexible or rigid cannula attached on it. The procedure can be performed in an outpatient setting with simple oral analgesics or conscious sedation given beforehand. The investigators have previously evaluated the acceptability and feasibility of the addition of ultrasound guidance during the procedure. The investigators found that ultrasound-guided manual vacuum aspiration (USG-MVA) is an effective alternative treatment modality to medical and traditional surgical evacuation under general anesthesia for the management of first trimester delayed or incomplete miscarriage. The procedure has been introduced in our locality since 2015. Since then, the investigators have performed more than 200 cases of USG-MVA locally. However, the subsequent local experience of USG-MVA and culture failure rate in the POC during cytological analysis obtained via this method remains limited in the literature.