Aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs can increase your risk of bleeding during the procedure. You may experience bleeding after the procedure, so make sure you bring a menstrual pad to your appointment. The procedure takes about 10 minutes, though you may be in the room for about 30 minutes total. Your doctor or nurse will show you the equipment, explain the procedure, and ask if you have any questions or concerns.
Your doctor or nurse will place a grounding pad on your thighs to protect you from electrical shocks that can happen in the treatment room. Your doctor will insert a speculum into your vagina to spread the walls of your vaginal canal and provide a clear view to your cervix. They may also use a colposcope to magnify the tissue of your cervix.
Next, your doctor will clean your cervix with a vinegar solution. The solution will turn any abnormal tissue white so that it can be seen more easily. They may opt to use iodine in place of vinegar. Iodine will stain normal cervical tissue brown, allowing abnormal cells to be easily seen. Your doctor will inject a local anesthetic to numb your cervix before beginning the removal process. After your cervix is numb, your doctor will pass the wire loop through the speculum and begin to scrape away any abnormal tissue.
You may feel some pressure or slight cramping. Let your doctor know if you experience severe pain or feel faint. They may be able to apply more anesthetic. After the abnormal cells are removed, your doctor will apply a paste-like medication to stop any bleeding.
Your doctor will likely ask you to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. During LEEP, you will be in the same position as you are for a Pap test — lying on your back with your feet up in stirrups. The doctor will place a speculum the same instrument used during a Pap test into the vagina to keep it open. Local freezing will be used to numb your cervix and you may be given pain medicine by mouth or IV intravenous.
The doctor uses a colposcope a lighted magnifying instrument to look at the vagina and cervix and to guide the loop of wire to the tissue in the cervix. The wire loop uses heat to remove the abnormal cervical tissue. During a LEEP you may hear some noise coming from the equipment connected to the wire loop. An endocervical curettage may be done at the same time as LEEP. This procedure uses a brush or a tool called a curette to remove cells from the endocervical canal the passageway from the uterus to the vagina.
After LEEP, most women are able to return to most of their normal activities within 1 to 3 days. You will be told to avoid sexual intercourse, douching and using tampons for 3 to 4 weeks.
Schmeler also recommends that those eligible get the HPV vaccine , which can prevent the development of cervical cancer and abnormal cells and therefore the need for a LEEP. The HPV vaccine is given in two doses for males and females ages Beginning at age 15 through age 45, three doses are required for full immunity.
I hope that one day all women have access to HPV vaccination, cervical screening and, if needed, a LEEP so that cervical cancer can be eliminated. Request an appointment at MD Anderson online or by calling My Chart.
Donate Today. For Physicians. Cancer Moonshots. Jump To:. June 30, Who needs a LEEP? Does a LEEP hurt? How long does it take to recover from a LEEP?
Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. A loop electrosurgical excision procedure LEEP involves the removal of cervical tissue using a thin wire loop heated by electricity.
This may be recommended to further evaluate and treat pre-cancerous cells on your cervix that are found during a screening Pap smear or colposcopy. While this procedure is safe, fast, and can be performed in your healthcare provider's office, follow-up and continued monitoring is key to ensuring that the abnormal cells do not return and progress to cervical cancer.
A LEEP is one of the most common procedures used to treat cervical dysplasia , which is when abnormal precancerous cells are found within or around a woman's cervix. This procedure takes around 20 minutes and is performed in your healthcare provider's office under local anesthesia.
However, some women may prefer to have general anesthesia, in which case it can be done in a hospital or surgery center. After injecting a numbing medication into the cervix, the practitioner inserts a thin, wire loop into the vagina. Once it reaches the cervix, an electric current is passed through the wire loop to cut away and remove a thin layer of abnormal cervical tissue. Besides a LEEP, other procedures that may be used to remove abnormal cervical cells include:.
Your healthcare provider will decide on a LEEP or another procedure based on factors like your age, the location of the abnormal cells in your cervix, the size and number of areas affected, their suspicion for cancer, and whether you have undergone prior cervical treatments. Severe cervicitis inflammation or infection of the cervix is a contraindication to a LEEP. A LEEP is also not performed during pregnancy unless there is a high suspicion of cervical invasive cancer.
Risks associated with a LEEP include:. After a LEEP, there is also a small increase in the risk of future pregnancy complications, including premature birth and having a low-birth-weight baby. A LEEP is typically done when a Pap smear or a colposcopy suggests the presence of abnormal cervical cells or cervical dysplasia. Cervical dysplasia may be a precursor to cervical cancer and is often caused by a human papillomavirus HPV infection. The good news is that when cervical dysplasia is identified and treated early, most women do not go on to develop cancer.
Even if the cells are cleared, you will still have HPV and require ongoing monitoring to ensure that any abnormal cells are treated promptly if and when they emerge. Less commonly, a LEEP may be used to help diagnose or treat the following conditions:.
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