has anyone had a leep done?

kuipo324 · March 2012

i had a leep procedure done 11 years ago, and ive read that this can make you have a short cervix and possibly lead to pre term labor. my dr told be not to worry and they usually dont do a cerclage for it unless you have a problem, meaning a preterm labor. but i would like to avoid that if i can. my dr didnt give me the best information. he doesnt have the best bedside mannar. has anyone had experience with being pregnant with having the leep? any problems?

valeriej6 · March 2012

I had a leep procedure done about 4 years ago and my OB hasn't mentioned anything about it effecting my pregnancy....I'll have to ask next time. GL to you!

DenaRenee78 · March 2012

I suffered two second trimester losses one at 24 weeks and one at 20 weeks. My water broke too soon and I went into labor. My one son was born alive and died shortly after and my other son passed before he was born. I was told AFTER the two losses that I had an incompetent cervix. I was then later told that it was due to me having a leep done and a chryo to get rid of cancer cells. =( Now they tell me .. right .. geesh. Well I am pregnant again and this time they did a cervical cerclage at 13 weeks. I am expecting twins this time around. So here's hoping the cerclage works.

Here's what I learned .. they won't do a preventive cerclage unless you have already had a loss. They will do an emergent one later on in pregnancy up til 24 weeks if there is a need for it. So if your cervix is funneling in an ultrasound or your showing signs of it starting to weaken I would DEMAND a cerclage!!! They would need to do it before your cervix opens enough to let your water bag start to drop. After your water bag starts to drop its much more risky to do a cerclage. A lot of doctors don't want to do the cerclage if the mother hasn't had a loss. They will instead try to push bedrest on you. Bedrest works for some .. but it didn't for me!

Here's hoping your cervix is strong and your pregnant for a long time!

wallacewife06 · March 2012

I had one almost 11 years ago too. Doc is giving me a transvaginal ultrasound at my 19th week/ anatomy/ gender scan appointment and will measure my cervix the to see if the cerclage is necessary. Ask your doc about that...

camillaandcarson · March 2012

I would recommend getting a second opinion from another doctor. Better safe than sorry. And getting frequent measuring of your cervix. A preventative vaginal cerclage isn't too big of a big deal to place, it becomes more of a risk when placed in an emergency. Some women are OK and never have a problem but others do. The reasons for this can vary as not all procedures by doctors are the same for every woman.

I had several procedures done and was dx as IC as there wasn't much left and it wasn't good but had not had a loss. I still was treated conservatively and am thankful I was. At 18 weeks when admitted to L&D it was obvious I had IC problems and I know I would have lost the baby had I not been treated conservatively. I cannot imagine the the medical community forcing me wait until I lost a baby or two to care. Thankfully with the preventative measures I took the baby is still doing well. You can PM me anytime. Best wishes for a safe and healthy pregnancy.

DenaRenee78:
So if your cervix is funneling in an ultrasound or your showing signs of it starting to weaken I would DEMAND a cerclage!!! They would need to do it before your cervix opens enough to let your water bag start to drop. After your water bag starts to drop its much more risky to do a cerclage. They will instead try to push bedrest on you.

The problem is sometimes people can't tell at all until it is too late. So unless the doctor is monitoring her condition it might go unnoticed until it becomes impossible to ignore. And by then it is too late for many depending on the week of pregnancy. Most losses from IC occur in the 2nd trimester before viability or very shortly after.

I am so very sorry for your losses How terrible. Sending you the best wishes for a safe and healthy twin pregnancy.

s bella · March 2012

Yes. I had one 14 years ago. And it wasn't until I was about 16 weeks prego that I heard it could cause complications in pregnancy. A friend mentioned that she had ultrasounds every two weeks to check her cervix because of her Leep. Of course, I freaked and called my OB, who had me come in to discuss it. I trust my OB completely. She said that there is no right or wrong way to proceed. Some offices do vaginal ultrasounds every two weeks to measure the cervix and make sure it isn't thinning. She said that she believes that is overkill, and that if they pregnancy is normal with no complications, those ultrasounds are not necessary. She did send me for an ultrasound that day to measure my cervix just to make me feel better. My cervix measured normal. It was checked again at my 20 week ultrasound, normal again, and I haven't thought of it again until I read your post.

If your doctor didn't make you feel at ease, maybe a second opinion is a good idea. Can you switch OB's at this point?

poison489 · March 2012

Have you had your first ultra sound? My doctor checked the length of my cervix at the time of our first appointment. My guess would be if he didn't see any problems with it at that time, that you have nothing to worry about.

versed · March 2012

I had one about 6 years ago, and my Dr's office just does a transvaginal ultrasound at 21 weeks in order to check cervical competence. Since my cervix was deemed competent at that time, they will not do any further ultrasounds unless I am showing signs of needing one.

jenkanne · March 2012

I had one done in 2007 - My Dr told me she also had one done by the same Gyn.

SHe said everything looks fine so far.

jessibel00 · March 2012

I had one done 9 years ago and had my cervix measured at 14 weeks and the measurement was normal, my doctor said that they will do another at my anatomy scan with the MFM and then frequently after that, but only because that is standard with twins. Not because of the leep.

ccam · March 2012

I have had extra u/s to check cervical length and will continue to have them through 24 weeks. It is standard in my OB's office for anyone that has had a LEEP. I would speak to you Dr about it to make sure.

kuipo324 · March 2012

i am so sorry for those losses you had to experience. it makes me so mad that they wont do any preventative measures unless youve have had a loss. i am gonna call tomorrow and talk about it more with my dr. hes an awesome dr but just really unclear about things sometimes. he said my 12w u/s was totally normal, and they were gonna check at my 20w again. but im still so worried becuase im on my feet all day. and the worse thing is that i miscarried at 11 weeks last time. you think my dr would want to be so careful. thank you so much for sharing your experience.

jfgreer · March 2012

camillaandcarson:
I would recommend getting a second opinion from another doctor. Better safe than sorry. And getting frequent measuring of your cervix.

This.

I had one about 8 years ago. My doctor has me come in more frequently than the average woman and checks/measures my cervix every time. I'm lucky that I've been with this doctor for at least 10 years and he's the one who did the LEEP and all the colposcopies I've had so he knows my history. He is also an expert in the area of cervixes (plural ??) and HPV.

You mentioned you were checked at 12 weeks and won't be again until 20, and I see you are at 16 now. I would definitely get a second opinion soon, because I feel (just going off my own experience here) that you should have it checked before 20 weeks again. If possible, perhaps find a doctor that specializes in that area as mine does.

Good luck...and don't freak out...sounds like you're on the right track to getting yourself taken care of!

byrne15 · March 2012

I had my LEEP done 1.5 years ago.

I am going for u/s every 2 weeks to monitor my cervical length.

htaylor516 · March 2012

I didn't have a leep but I had a cone done. I'm not sure what the difference is, but the result of removing cancerous cells is the same. I had this done about 5 years ago. Because of this my doctor measured my cervix at my 19 week 2 level ultrasounds. It measured at 4.6 which is good. Anything 2.5 and under is a cause for concern. It doesn't stop here - I have to go in every two weeks up until 30 wks to have it measured. In the state of Delaware, they measure everyone preganant woman's cervix at their 2 level ultrasound. If they have history of a leep or cone they continue to monitor it. If the cervix is fine and they have no history of it they don't. I would certainly ask for it to be checked periodically because the measurement can change the further along you are. Good luck!

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