[Is tocolytic treatment required for surgical closure of cervix? (author's transl)]

Reported in this paper are 211 cases of surgical closure of the cervix by McDonald's procedure. In 50 per cent of all cases, isthmocervical closure was performed for indications derived from case histories, and 68.2 per cent of the operations were performed in the fifth and sixth months of pregnancy. No postoperative complications were suffered by the mothers or children concerned. Average hospitalisation was 8.3 days for 111 pregnant women who required parallel tocolytic treatment or 5.6 days for 100 patients without complementary tocolysis. Perinatal mortality was 1.77 per cent in the first group, with 94.6 per cent of these women giving birth beyond the 36th week of pregnancy. -The outcome of pregnancy was evaluated, too, in the context of 77 patients in a comparable group with no tocolytic treatment. Both abortions and perinatal mortality accounted for 2.6 per cent each, with 94.8 per cent of these women giving birth beyond the 36th week of pregnancy. The effectiveness of surgical closure of the cervix with flanking tocolysis is discussed.