[Cerclage surgery--a possible treatment/prevention of cervical insufficiency]

The incidence of cervical incompetence is 0.1-1%. A retrospective study of a six year period in the University Hospital of Copenhagen, Hvidovre is presented. This includes 37 women, all of whom were treated surgically on 44 occasions with cerclage on account of incompetence of the cervix. The duration of the pregnancy after operation was longer in women operated in a quiet phase, without cervical effacement and with an internal os smaller than 3 cm. Women with an internal os dilated to more than 3 cm at the time of operation all terminated their pregnancies within three days. This study showed good results if the operation was carried out at a quiet phase, when the internal os was less than 3 cm and when no bulging of the membranes was apparent.