Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Loop electrosurgical excision procedure , commonly known as LEEP, is a procedure that's done to treat persistent, low-grade and high-grade cervical dysplasia , a precancerous condition of the cervix.
LEEP uses an electrically charged wire loop to remove cervical tissue. It's done under local anesthesia and is normally performed on an outpatient basis in a hospital or in the healthcare provider's office. When faced with the prospect of undergoing a LEEP procedure, many people are concerned about how it will affect future pregnancies.
Tales of infertility, miscarriage, and preterm labor are often the first things that people hear when researching a LEEP. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, there is a small increase in the risk of premature births and having a low birth weight baby after a LEEP procedure, but most people have no problems. There are several reasons that a LEEP procedure is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.
When your cervix is diagnosed as "incompetent," it means that the cervix is unable to stay closed during pregnancy. Cervical incompetence can result in miscarriage and preterm labor.
However, a cervical cerclage can be done to ensure that the cervix remains closed during the pregnancy. This means that the cervix is sewn closed for the duration of the pregnancy. Only a small percentage of people who have had a LEEP will require a cerclage during pregnancy. One study showed that women who became pregnant less than a year after their LEEP procedures had a higher risk of miscarriage. This refers to the tightening and narrowing of the cervix.
This can make it difficult for the cervix to dilate during labor. There are some concerns about fertility after a LEEP procedure. Research has yielded mixed results, but at least one study indicates that your ability to get pregnant is not affected. The ways in which a future pregnancy will be affected by a LEEP depend on how much cervical tissue has been removed and whether this particular procedure or any other cervical surgery has been previously performed.
Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any concerns. There are several questions that you should ask your healthcare provider about LEEP if you plan on becoming pregnant. They include:. Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider's appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Be sure to inform your healthcare provider if you have had a LEEP at your first obstetric appointment. Methods: This is a matched cohort study of all women who had a LEEP for a biopsy-confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia CIN in between December and December and subsequently delivered after 20 weeks' gestation at the University Hospital of Northern Norway.
Women who had an ectopic pregnancy or an abortion spontaneous or induced following LEEP were excluded from analysis. Two controls matched for the date of delivery, age, parity, previous obstetric history and smoking habit were identified for each case using routinely entered data from the birth register.
The main outcome measures were the duration of pregnancy and birth weight. Other variables recorded included the grade of cervical dysplasia, size of the electrosurgical loop, age, parity, pregnancy complications, mode of delivery, and perinatal outcome.
Results: Of a total of women of reproductive age who had LEEP performed during the study period, 89 had a pregnancy after the procedure. Loop electrosurgical excision procedure and the risk for preterm delivery.
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