Cerclage moms - tell me about the procedure

MrsLeanna · December 2013

I'm pretty sure at my MFM appt tomorrow she will recommend it and I want to be prepared. What was your experience like? Will they do it in the office or is it something that needs to be done in a hospital? Also - is it painful? Bleeding? I'm very nervous.

jennybean80 · December 2013

Here it's done in the hospital under a GA. I've never heard people complain about pain or bleeding from it. They are removed around 37 weeks and that doesn't need any anesthetic.

JackieP1023 · December 2013

It kinda depends. Is it preventative or rescue? I had a (failed) rescue attempt in 2011 at 19 weeks. It failed bc membranes were already bulging, and in the process of the stitch, ended up breaking my water. This time around, I had preventative placed at 13+2. It was an outpatient procedure... I walked in to the hospital at 8am, and was discharged by 5pm. It will have to be done in a surgical area-mine was in a c-section bay on the L&D floor. My day was a bit longer than it could have been, simply because the doctors were busy with a c-section that morning when I should have been going back. Basically, they put me in a room, got me in bed in a gown. Started an IV. We just hung out in the room until they were ready. U/s tech came in to verify everything looked good with baby, then I had to empty my bladder, and then walk down to the surgical bay. When in there, the anesthesiologist gave me the spinal (which was the worst part, IMHO). They laid me down and strapped my feet/legs up. Doctor came in, they drained my bladder (apparently I wasnt empty), placed the cerclage. Rolled me onto the bed from my room, and I went back and watched tv/hung out with DH until my legs woke up. Then, they had me pee, had another quick u/s, and then discharged me with some pain meds. That's about all there was to it. My only pain afterwards was in my back from the spinal. That lasted a few days. The cerclage itself, I could feel for about a week (sort of like pinching, not pain), and then that went away.

I had some spotting for a couple of days, but nothing major.

bossyfnp · December 2013

Everything that @jackie said except i was in the hospital over 2 days but mine was a rescue cerclage not preventative

MrsLeanna · December 2013

Preventative, unless my cervical measurement tomorrow is significantly less than last week. I have a history of PTL and have begun contracting already. My cervix last week measured 2.5 during contractions but then went back to 3.5 when my uterus was calm. My MFM mentioned the cerclage to me, but wanted to see what happened in a week and if the cx continued after I started 17P, which they have

bossyfnp · December 2013

Well in your case they may keep you at least overnight., i would think

sexyntexy · December 2013

I had a similar experience to the PP. I did have some cramping for a few days after. Tylenol helped. I had the procedure done around 11am and left at 4. Waiting for the spinal to wear off is the longest part. GL!

MissChanandlerBong · December 2013

I had a preventative cerclage placed at 14w. It was done at a hospital by my OB. I was not allowed to eat or drink anything from midnight the night before up until the surgery. Once I got to the hospital and to my room, I changed into a gown and the nurse placed an IV. The anesthesiologist came to talk to me about allergies and whatnot, and my doctor listened to the baby's heartbeat, then I was wheeled into the OR. They placed the spinal which did not really hurt at all for me (the IV was worse!) - I think they might have used a numbing agent on the skin first? Not 100% sure of that. So we waited a bit for that to take effect and get everything ready to go. The doctor placed a catheter in (thankfully after the spinal - with my emergency cerclage the catheter was placed beforehand and that was NOT pleasant). The actual surgery took about 7 minutes - I watched the clock. It was not painful due to the spinal, but you can still feel them moving around and working down there, so it was somewhat uncomfortable. After it was done, I went to the recovery room for a couple hours. I was able to eat and drink something then. They took the catheter out (which I didn't even feel happening) and I was moved to a regular room. Then I just had to pee before I could go home. I drank as much as I could (and I still had my IV with fluids), but it took me awhile before I could pee for some reason - I just didn't have much sensation. They eventually did a bladder scan and I was pretty full so they started to get a little concerned, but finally I peed and was able to go home. They took out my IV, wheeled me out, and off I went. I had some spotting afterwards for about 48 hours which gradually decreased. I was a little crampy/uncomfortable for several days, but I feel great now. I am 22w and everything is going well. I get weekly cervical checks and I'm staying over 3.5cm, so the cerclage is not currently being used, but it's nice to know it's there as a back-up.

Overall, I would not say it's a fun and painless procedure, but it's nothing to worry about. Ask as many questions as you need to feel comfortable. Take it easy afterwards too. Good luck with everything!

PerkyErky · December 2013

I had a rescue cerclage done at 18w6d due to my cervix shortening to 2.5 and funneling and my previous loss at 20w4d.

I was admitted to the hospital the same day they took those measurements and my procedure was scheduled for the following morning. I was given IV antibiotics every 8hrs starting from when I was admitted to reduce the risk of a potential infection. I was given a spinal, legs put into stirrups and the cerclage placed. I was then kept overnight again for monitoring and a few more rounds of antibiotics. Baby was checked before and after. Normally it is done in L&D operating room, however they were booked up and my MFM wanted it done ASAP so I was in the regular OR of the hospital.

Day of the procedure I had mild cramping and pressure (once feeling returned) and spotting. I was told to not be surprised if I had a clot or two from where the stitch was placed and they did some minor cuts to get it as high as possible. My spotting stopped after a few days and was minimal when I was discharged the following morning. I occasionally felt pressure the following week, but since then nothing really. I'm 27w2d

I'm mobile so have no idea how far along you are, but it sounds like you will be getting a rescue cerclage so there is a chance you will be kept overnight at L&D.

angelsnight · December 2013

It's done in the hospital, at mine they used to do them in L&D but due to being too busy they moved it down to the main OR.

The procedure itself wasn't painful because I had a spinal, but I could feel some pressure that was uncomfortable at times, and just being awake in the OR was weird and uncomfortable since it was so cold in there.

If you want to read it in more detail, I wrote about my experience in my blog.

https://littlepeanut331.blogspot.com/2013/09/cerclage-14-wks-2-days.html

ajsweeton · December 2013

MissChanandlerBong said:
I had a preventative cerclage placed at 14w. It was done at a hospital by my OB. I was not allowed to eat or drink anything from midnight the night before up until the surgery. Once I got to the hospital and to my room, I changed into a gown and the nurse placed an IV. The anesthesiologist came to talk to me about allergies and whatnot, and my doctor listened to the baby's heartbeat, then I was wheeled into the OR. They placed the spinal which did not really hurt at all for me (the IV was worse!) - I think they might have used a numbing agent on the skin first? Not 100% sure of that. So we waited a bit for that to take effect and get everything ready to go. The doctor placed a catheter in (thankfully after the spinal - with my emergency cerclage the catheter was placed beforehand and that was NOT pleasant). The actual surgery took about 7 minutes - I watched the clock. It was not painful due to the spinal, but you can still feel them moving around and working down there, so it was somewhat uncomfortable. After it was done, I went to the recovery room for a couple hours. I was able to eat and drink something then. They took the catheter out (which I didn't even feel happening) and I was moved to a regular room. Then I just had to pee before I could go home. I drank as much as I could (and I still had my IV with fluids), but it took me awhile before I could pee for some reason - I just didn't have much sensation. They eventually did a bladder scan and I was pretty full so they started to get a little concerned, but finally I peed and was able to go home. They took out my IV, wheeled me out, and off I went. I had some spotting afterwards for about 48 hours which gradually decreased. I was a little crampy/uncomfortable for several days, but I feel great now. I am 22w and everything is going well. I get weekly cervical checks and I'm staying over 3.5cm, so the cerclage is not currently being used, but it's nice to know it's there as a back-up.
Overall, I would not say it's a fun and painless
procedure, but it's nothing to worry about. Ask as many questions as you need to feel
comfortable. Take it easy afterwards too. Good luck with everything!

This is exactly my experience except for the bladder scan. It took forever to be able to pee, but as soon as I did I got to leave. I had some pretty strong cramps that night, but it went away by the next day. They gave me medicine to prevent contractions before and after the cerclage and some kind of nasty stuff to settle my stomach too.

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