Questions about cerclage removal (if anyone has had one or has one)

pnkfaerie · April 2012

hello, I don't often frequent the bump but I need help from actual people and not Dr. Google. I had a cerclage placed at 13 weeks and was informed today that they will take it out at my next appointment (36w5d). If anyone has had one before, or has one now, did they tell you what it would be like when it was removed? Does it hurt? Thank you for any responses! I also apologize if this post belongs on a different board...

hopefuldad · April 2012

There's a great forum for IC support over at https://ic.hobh.org/forums with lots of people who posted their stories on this. If you register there, there's a subforum called Cerclage Removal with about 100 different removal "stories" so you can read a lot about it.

My wife still has hers in (and hopefully it will stay there for another 2 1/2 months or so), but from what people posted there, sounds like it varies a lot. Usually it's done by your OB in their office or at L&D without any anesthesia. If the stitch is really deep/embedded, you might need spinal. For some people it is quick and painless, for some it takes a while and is very painful, and for some it's somewhere in between. Just depends on where the cerclage is placed, how deep it is, how easy the knot is to reach, whether or not significant scar tissue has grown around it, etc. Some people have a lot of bleeding after, some don't have much.

ginat34 · April 2012

hi there! congrats on your pregnancy! its been 11 yrs. since i had a cerclage. when they removed mine it was uncomfortable & a little painful but nothing i couldnt handle. i thought they would numb me but they didnt.i spotted a little, nothing bad & needed to take tylenol but got over it real quick! you will be fine! hope i helped a little!

Gertie08 · April 2012

Hi! I'm scheduled to have mine removed in about 4-5 weeks. My regular OB will remove it in L&D and monitor me for about an hour afterwards. There will be no anesthesia, so I'm a little anxious it will hurt. However, I just keep telling myself that I'll be so happy to be that far in my pregnancy, that a few mins of pain will be with it! I have heard a range of stories - some women say its just a little uncomfortable during removal (like a pap, but longer) and some women say its pretty intense pain. Like PP stated, I think it depends on how embedded the cerclage is and if scar tissue has built up or not. Both my MFM and regular OB said the worst part is the speculum, but I'm not sure I believe them :-)

Please report back on how your removal goes, good luck!

easjer05 · April 2012

My cerclage was removed on Monday.

My peri placed it, but the plan was for my OB to remove it. She does it in hospital (they do all NST's at the new hospital now, and do an NST both before and after the procedure), and prefers her patients to have anesthesia because it can a painful procedure and a lot of women tense up in anticipation, which can make it harder.

However, my doctor (who is due 6 days after me) unexpectedly went on bedrest, so I was switched to another doctor in the practice. She does not use anesthesia.

I went in Monday to the assessment center (similar to L&D triage/monitoring in other hospitals), and they had me change into a gown and put me on the monitor for about 45 minutes. Baby looked good, uterus was calm, so they took me off and we waited for the doctor (delayed by an emergency c-section). When the doctor arrived, they converted the room and the bed, put me up in stirrups, prepped with betadine. Doctor inserted weighted retractors (this was the most painful part), used forceps to manipulate the cervix until she could visualize the knot. Then she cut alongside it, tugged lightly and it slipped right out. She held it up for me to see (it was surgical wire, looked a lot like a green twistie tie for an old-fashioned trash bag to be honest), and then rinsed the cervix and vagina with betadine. Removed the retractors (thank GOD) and it was done. Literally 5 minutes from stirrups & prep to done. A very long five minutes, and it really didn't feel good, but it also wasn't that big a deal, you know?

They put me back on the monitors for thirty minutes. If I hadn't started contracting, I would have been free to go then, but my uterus was irritated by all the action, and so they kept me on for another thirty mintues and finally decided I might be dehydrated and gave me IV fluids. That calmed everything down (but since it took about an hour and a half and two people and four attempts to place the stupid IV, I was there for an extra four hours).

I only had minor spotting for a couple of hours, though they warned me I could bleed up to a light period for a day or so. Once it was out, I didn't really have any discomfort apart from the contractions. A lot of folks just have it removed in the office and it's no big deal. If it weren't for the weighted retractors, it would have been like a pap.

easjer05 · April 2012

Gertie08:
Hi! I'm scheduled to have mine removed in about 4-5 weeks. My regular OB will remove it in L&D and monitor me for about an hour afterwards. There will be no anesthesia, so I'm a little anxious it will hurt. However, I just keep telling myself that I'll be so happy to be that far in my pregnancy, that a few mins of pain will be with it! I have heard a range of stories - some women say its just a little uncomfortable during removal (like a pap, but longer) and some women say its pretty intense pain. Like PP stated, I think it depends on how embedded the cerclage is and if scar tissue has built up or not. Both my MFM and regular OB said the worst part is the speculum, but I'm not sure I believe them :-)
Please report back on how your removal goes, good luck!

Honest to God, that was the worst part for me. It was larger and heavier than a normal speculum (I'm generally very unbothered by pelvic exams or pap smears), and it just hurt. But again, it was very short-lived. The actual stitch removal I didn't feel at all, just a little tug. When the OB was rinsing the cervix and vagina with betadine and she accidentally jiggled the speculum, I whimpered a little bit. It may have been worse if there had been scar tissue or something, but it was surprisingly easy. Once the torture device was out, it was fine. 5 minutes, beginning to end.

karenreneek · April 2012

I am on my 4th cerclage. I was nervous about the removal but the 1st 2 removals went just fine, only took about 2 minutes. It was done in the office, no drugs or anesthesia. The speculum was the worst part. It was a little uncomfortable for me but not a big deal. With both of them I went into labor within 24 hours. With my third removal it was a different story. I had it done at the L&D dept because we thougth I would go into labor shortly after. It took about an hour to get that stitch out. The OB cut it just a little too short and couldn't get the other end to get it out. She felt horrible! It took a bunch of special tools to finally get it out. Worst part was that I didn't go into labor for days after that. I was told that my Ob will take this stitch out in L&D again but this time she left the stitches longer so she should have no problem grabbing them.

Good Luck, Karen

pnkfaerie · April 2012

My update: I took two tries. By this I mean that I have anxiety issues and the first time I went in to have it done, I panicked and my BP skyrocketed. They then feared i was developing Pre-E...which I knew I was not. Anyway, They monitored me in Triage and after several hours I was sent home, cerclage and all. I called the OBs office and they told me to return the next day to have it out. While I was there, they monitored me for a bit and then came in, adjusted me on the bed (stirrups and whatnot) and then the worst part was the speculum. I didn't even feel the stitch being snipped and pulled out. I didn't feel anything because of the speculum. I feel better with it out though!

Questions about cerclage removal (if anyone has had one or has one)

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