Dilatation and Curettage

Dear Ask The Doctor: Why would a surgeon perform a D&C upon finishing a successful tubal ligation? My sister had her tubes tied at the age of eighteen, she is afraid that the surgeon may have done some things he should not have, the D&C is the most disturbing, among them.

Dear Piktsi: Tubal ligation is permanent means of contraception. It is very unusual for such a procedure to be performed in an 18 year old female. There are a number of indications for performing a D&C (Dilatation and Curettage): To diagnose certain conditions of the uterus such as uterine cancer, To terminate a pregnancy, To remove retained products of conception. If your sister requested a tubal ligation immediately after delivery of a baby and simultaneously had products of conception in the uterus after delivery then this may explain the D&C being performed after tubal ligation. Otherwise I can see no indication for combining the two procedures.