Cervical Erclage: 10 Management Controversies

A number of placement and follow-up strategies remain unproven. An expert offers clinical perspective and summarizes published data on 10 key questions.

Dr. Repke is professor and chairman, department of obstetrics and gynecology, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pa. He also serves on the OBG Management Board of Editors.

Although it has become the basic management tool for cervical incompetence, cervical cerclage—especially emergent cerclage—remains a procedure with well-defined risks and questionable benefits. Thus, it should be used judiciously.

This article addresses 10 particularly controversial questions about this intervention.