Abstract
ABSTRACT
Ninety-nine consecutive cold knife conizations performed between 1980 and 1985 were evaluated. A distinction was made according to the surgical technique used for conization: electrocauterization of the wound (n = 31) or intracervical injection of epinephrine solution 1:200,000 preoperatively (n = 68). No sutures were used to close the wound in either group, and the two groups were comparable in the main factors affecting the chance of complications after conization. Blood loss during the operation was significantly lower in the epinephrine than in the cauterization group, permitting more precise surgery in the former group. The total number of complications was also lower in the epinephrine group. The incidence of postoperative hemorrhage was small (3%) and similar in both groups. During the follow-up period, cervical stenosis was found in 10% of the cauterization group as against 4% of the epinephrine group. The chance of obtaining an adequate cervical smear with endocervical cells during the follow-up period was the same for both groups (cauterization, 0.80; epinephrine, 0.82).
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