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How Safe Are Cervical Stitches During Pregnancy?

Posted on Sat, 14 Mar 2015

Question: hi
my wife is 24 weeks pregnant and we had full anomaly scan at 20th week. in which her cl was 3.2 cm. her gynac checked her cervix and advised cervical stitches saying it has become soft. reading the risks involved in this surgical procedure over net, we are sacred to do it. can you please advise how much risk do we carry and do we really need it. we don't HV any past miscarriage history.

Answered by Dr. Manisha Jain (35 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Repeat ultrasound advised

Detailed Answer:
Hello Sir,

I understand your anxiety related to the issue.

In my opinion at 3.2 cm cervical length there is no need to get cerclage done.
If your gynecologist feels that the cervix has become soft then get a repeat scan for cervical length and internal OS diameter.
Get the report and then we can discuss further plan of management.

Till then take a note of the following points -
- ask her to have a good rest with no exertion at all
- avoid intercourse
- take ample amount of water
- ask her to take adequate sleep of 7-8 hours at night and 1-2 hours in day
- avoid any kind of stress
- keep taking all the medicines as prescribed daily without a miss.

Regards
Dr Manisha

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Ashwin Bhandari

Follow up: Dr. Manisha Jain (6 hours later)

thanks Dr XXXXXXX for quick advice. we visited another gynac today and she also suggested USG. she also did internal cervix check and she was also saying same that it appears short. as per USG we did today on 24 weeks, cl remains same 3.2 cm. and report says cervix appear minimally dilated at its upper end but no obvious funneling is evident. internal is closed. now we are confused whether we need stitch or not. pls advise.

thanks.

Answered by Dr. Manisha Jain (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
no need of cerclage

Detailed Answer:
In my opinion there is no need for stitch application as she has never had any abortion and adequate length of cervix with minimal dilatation.
Rest is of Paramount importance in her case and regular check ups are must.
Ask her to continue with all the medicines as prescribed and relax.
All the best.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Manisha Jain (22 hours later)

thanks again. until which week stitches can be applied? we are thinking to discuss same with our gynac and to ask her to withhold stitches until it becomes absolute necessity. do you think it could be issue??

thanks in advance.

thanks XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Manisha Jain (24 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
can wait and watch

Detailed Answer:
Stitches can be applied till any gestation but hardly ever applied or indicated after 28 weeks.
Even if applied late there is not going to be any harm so you can still think over it.
In my opinion you don't need cerclage at all and only good rest will suffice.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Manisha Jain (2 minutes later)

thank you for your advice.

Answered by Dr. Manisha Jain (2 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
welcome

Detailed Answer:
Welcome dear
In case you have any questions in future you can contact me directly on http://bit.ly/drmanishajain

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar