[Ranking of cerclage in prophylaxis of premature births]

The results of 196 cases after operation for cerclage are reported. In 133 patients the operation was performed because of cervical incompetence with opening of the cervical canal without contractions. In 63 patients a prophylactic operation was performed for anamnestic reasons. In the group of cervical incompetence the operation resulted in 103 (94.5%) deliveries, 12 of which occurred before the 35th week of gestation. Following prophylactic cerclage, 46 (78.0%) pregnancies ended with a delivery. In the latter group, the rate of abortions was four times higher than in the group with cervical incompetence. In 82.6% the birth weight was higher than 2,500 g; 4.7% of the newborn only had a body weight below 1,500 g. Before performing cerclage in the 196 patients the abortion rate had been 50.5%, which dropped subsequently to 11.2%. Childbirth at term could be achieved after operation in 73.2% of the patients, compared to the previous figure of 34.4% only.