Vacuum extraction Health Dictionary

Vacuum Extraction: From 1 Different Sources


An obstetric procedure to facilitate the delivery of a baby. It may be used if the second stage of labour (see childbirth) is prolonged, if the mother becomes exhausted, or if the baby shows signs of fetal distress. Vacuum suction techniques are also used to perform early abortions.

The vacuum extraction instrument consists of a suction cup connected to a vacuum bottle. The suction cup is placed on the baby’s head in the birth canal, and the vacuum machine sucks the baby’s scalp into the cup. The obstetrician draws the baby out of the mother’s vagina by gently pulling on the cup with each uterine contraction.

The baby is born with a swelling on the scalp, but this disappears after a few days, usually without treatment.

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association

Vacuum Extractor

Also called a ventouse. The idea of the glass suction cup applied to the emerging head of the baby to assist in delivery was ?rst considered by Younge in 1706, but it was not until 1954 that the modern (ventouse) vacuum extractor was introduced. The value of the ventouse as against the FORCEPS has been disputed in di?erent clinics, the former being less popular in the UK. Indications are similar for the use of obstetric forceps. Even if the OCCIPUT is not in the anterior position, the extractor may still be applied; many obstetricians would choose forceps or perform manual rotation of the fetus in such cases.

In cases of prolongation of the ?rst stage of labour, the ventouse may be used to accelerate dilatation of the cervix – provided that the cervix is already su?ciently dilated to allow application of the cup. The ventouse cannot be applied to the breech or face; in urgent cases of fetal distress the operation takes too long, and forceps delivery is preferred. There is some doubt about its safety when used on premature babies; many obstetricians feel that forceps delivery reduces the risk of intracranial haemorrhage. The vacuum extractor, while resulting in a slower delivery than when forceps are used, has a lower risk of damage to the mother’s birth canal. (See PREGNANCY AND LABOUR – Some complications of labour.)... vacuum extractor

Extraction, Dental

Removal of teeth by a dentist. Extraction may be performed when a tooth is severely decayed or too badly broken to be repaired, or when an abscess (see abscess, dental) has formed. Teeth may also be removed if there is crowding or malocclusion, if the teeth are loose due to gum disease, or if they are preventing another tooth from erupting (see eruption of teeth).

For most extractions, local anaesthesia is used (see anaesthesia, dental). Teeth are usually extracted with dental forceps, which grasp the root of the tooth. In difficult extractions, some gum and bone may also need to be removed from around the tooth.... extraction, dental

Cataract Extraction

surgical removal of a cataract from the eye. In extracapsular cataract extraction the cataract alone is removed, leaving the lens capsule behind. Intracapsular cataract extraction is the removal of the whole lens, including the capsule that surrounds it.... cataract extraction

Extraction

n. 1. the surgical removal of a part of the body. Extraction of teeth is usually achieved by applying *elevators and extraction *forceps to the crown or root of the tooth to dislocate it from its socket. When this is not possible, for example because the tooth or root is deeply buried within the bone, extraction is performed surgically by removing bone and, where necessary, dividing the tooth. 2. the act of pulling out a baby from the body of its mother during childbirth.... extraction

Manual Vacuum Aspiration

(MVA) see vacuum aspiration.... manual vacuum aspiration

Tooth Extraction

see extraction.... tooth extraction

Vacuum Aspiration

the removal by suction of the products of conception to terminate a pregnancy or evacuate the uterus following miscarriage. Carried out under local anaesthetic up to the 12th week of pregnancy, it uses a hand-held syringe (manual vacuum aspiration, MVA) or an electric pump (electric vacuum aspiration, EVA) to create suction.... vacuum aspiration



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