Cervical conization (
CPT codes 57520 (Cold Knife) and 57522 (Loop Excision)) refers to an excision of a cone-shaped sample of tissue from the
mucous membrane
A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It i ...
of the
cervix
The cervix or cervix uteri (Latin, 'neck of the uterus') is the lower part of the uterus (womb) in the human female reproductive system. The cervix is usually 2 to 3 cm long (~1 inch) and roughly cylindrical in shape, which changes during ...
. Conization may be used for either diagnostic purposes as part of a
biopsy
A biopsy is a medical test commonly performed by a surgeon, interventional radiologist, or an interventional cardiologist. The process involves extraction of sample cells or tissues for examination to determine the presence or extent of a dise ...
or therapeutic purposes to remove pre-cancerous cells.
Types include:
* Cold knife conization
(CKC): usually outpatient, occasionally inpatient
*
Loop electrical excision procedure (LEEP): usually outpatient.
Conization of the cervix is a common treatment for
dysplasia
Dysplasia is any of various types of abnormal growth or development of cells (microscopic scale) or organs ( macroscopic scale), and the abnormal histology or anatomical structure(s) resulting from such growth. Dysplasias on a mainly microscopi ...
following abnormal results from a
pap smear
The Papanicolaou test (abbreviated as Pap test, also known as Pap smear (AE), cervical smear (BE), cervical screening (BE), or smear test (BE)) is a method of cervical screening used to detect potentially precancerous and cancerous processes in t ...
.
Side effects
Cervical conization causes a risk for subsequent pregnancies ending up in
preterm birth
Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 weeks, very early preterm birth is betwee ...
of approximately 30% on average, due to
cervical incompetence.
See also
*
Cervicectomy
In gynecologic oncology, trachelectomy, also called cervicectomy, is a surgical removal of the uterine cervix. As the uterine body is preserved, this type of surgery is a fertility preserving surgical alternative to a radical hysterectomy and ...
References
Biopsy
Diagnostic obstetrics and gynaecology
Medical terminology
Surgical oncology
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