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Pregnancy

Can anyone shed some light on pregnancy after Lletz treatment??

40 replies

Sammy842 · 06/08/2009 15:03

Hi, I wonder if anyony can help me? Last May I had Lletz treatment as I had CIN3 which effected my whole cervix. I had a little boy a couple of years before and had a smooth pregnancy and labour. All of the precancerous cells were removed and have had to normal smears since. I fell pregnant in April this year and miscarried at 10 weeks. I had a missed miscarriage and had to have medical management. Me and my partener have tried again and I have just found out that I am pregnant!! I am over the moon, but I have just been told that Lletz can cause women to miscarry has anyone else been through this at all as my doctoer agrees but midwife doesn't?? Thank you.

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Mole007 · 06/08/2009 16:43

Sorry to hear that all hasn't been smooth. I had a Lletz, and was assured by the consultant that the only likely impact was that I was more liable to give birth early (or even very early). We had massive complications with our first pregnancy, which we had to terminate, but the medics were at pains to assure us that this was a genetic 'one in a million' and in no way related to the Lletz or the CIN3 cells. We are now pg again and the bump is due in 4 weeks (and the sooner the better given this muggy weather ).

Hope stuff does work out for you

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puffylovett · 06/08/2009 17:14

My consultant wanted me to have the LEEP (think it's the same thing) but I refused for a long time. She ASSURED me that there were no issues with pregnancy or birth, as at the time I hadn't had a baby.

Into my second pregnancy, and my midwife told me at booking in, that what a good job I hadn't had it done as it could cause complications with dilation

I think that there is differing opinions wherever you go in all honesty. When you think about it physically, how can anyone mucking about with your cervix NOT cause issues ? If you've had a miscarriage before (so sorry to hear BTW) will they monitor you more closely ? Presumably they can put a stitch in if needed to ensure the cervix stays closed ?

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GeorgeTheSlitheen · 06/08/2009 17:18

I've never heard to can make women miscarry but it can cause problems with labour because the cervix might be unable to dilate because of scare tissue of may become incompetant. Both of my children were early due to the latter. I've had 3 lletzs so am at the extreme end of the scale. I was told the vast majority of pregnancies run completly smoothly after lletz but you do need to be monitored better.

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Sammy842 · 06/08/2009 17:25

Thank you all for your comments. Congrats mole007 and hope all goes well with your labour I think you are right about the differing opinions and from what I can gather it depends on the woman and how she has healed and how much has been taken away. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly then

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Sammy842 · 06/08/2009 17:29

Oh to answer your question Puffylovett, they will be monitoring me this time. They failed to give me a scan at 7 weeks last time and then said it was due to a 'mix up', then they didn't know whether I should be shared care or not my doc knows what he is doing this time, I won't let them fob me off again that's for sure!!

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GeorgeTheSlitheen · 06/08/2009 18:34

I've never heard to can make women miscarry but it can cause problems with labour because the cervix might be unable to dilate because of scare tissue of may become incompetant. Both of my children were early due to the latter. I've had 3 lletzs so am at the extreme end of the scale. I was told the vast majority of pregnancies run completly smoothly after lletz but you do need to be monitored better.

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Claire236 · 06/08/2009 19:47

I had LLETZ & was told at the time it wouldn't affect any future pregnancies. I have however read that it can make conceiving difficult, increase the risk of miscarriage & make prem labour more likely. Unfortunately I've also read that it does none of these things & that's from reputable sources. Personally I got pregnant with ds1 within a week of coming off the pill whereas it took 6 months to get pregnant this time round. Of course 6 months isn't medically regarded as a long time. I've never had a miscarriage & ds1 was prem so if this one arrives early there's no way of knowing if it's linked to the LLETZ. I think the reason for the mixed advice is that it can have an impact but it depends on how large an area was removed & how well it heals.

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neolara · 06/08/2009 20:03

I had Lletz and became pregnant less than a month later. I was assured by the specialist nurse at the clinic (who seemed very knowledgable and was quoting different research papers) that there was no significant risk to future pregnancies of having one Lletz procedure, although there was a slightly increased risk of having an early birth - by which she meant around 37 weeks.

I became pregnant around a month after having lletz and had no problems, although I did give birth at 37 weeks. However, I had also previously given birth at 37 1/2 weeks, so I think I may just cook them quickly.

I have also experienced recurrent miscarriage (some before and some after the lletz) and I have done A LOT of research on this. No-where have I seen a link between lletz and miscarriage, although there is a link between "incompetent cervix" (horrible term) and (I think) loop diathermy, which is / was another way of treating pre-cancerous cervical cells.

Congratulations on your new pregnancy. Pregnancy after miscarriage is always difficult to cope with, but statistically the chances are excellent that this baby will make it. The vast majority of babies that are miscarried do so because of a genetic abnormality.

Good luck.

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Meglet · 06/08/2009 20:12

I had 2 LLETZ treatments in 2004 /2005 after CIN3 cells were found. As a result my cervix became very tight and my periods wouldn't come out very well, only if I ran or went for a pee (sorry about the TMI). I conceived after doing handstands . I had a 12 hour hefty labour with ds in autumn 2006 and only dilated 1cm, so he was whipped out by em cs. My second child was a planned cs as even the midwife said it might be a disaster to try for a normal birth, I think it was a close call with ds TBH.

My consultant said I was pretty unusual as usually the cervix isn't affected or it can be too loose, in my case it was held together by scar tissue. The medical term is cervical stenosis IIRC. The good thing is that it did keep the baby in, they just had to do a cs to get both my dc's out.

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Sammy842 · 06/08/2009 21:05

OMG so many people have had the Lletz treatment aswell. And judging by all of your advise (thank you all again) it really just depends on so many things. Well at least I have a few things in mind to ask my GP and midwife this time and I will go into this open minded. Thank you again everyone

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muddle78 · 06/08/2009 23:53

as far as i am aware Lletz does not affect pregnancy at all as it is a relativly small shaving of skin removed from the cervix. i think it is being mistaken here for a 'cone biopsy' which is potentially dangerous in pregnancy and may require a stitch.

btw i had lletz age 21 and this was advice i received.

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kif · 06/08/2009 23:56

My SIL discovered she was pregnant very shortly after the LLEP - may have predated the procedure. T'was fine. Lovely baby girl carried to term.

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alp · 07/08/2009 09:08

i had a cone biopsy in July 2008 which by what I understand is a more 'involved' procedure than a lletz.

Between my GP and midwife I was given different information but what has happened is: I saw a consultant at 14 weeks who talked me through what had happened and would happen. He wouldn't give me an internal scan to check cerix length as at 14 weeks there is a risk of over-treating. At 22 weeks I saw him again for the internal scan which is where he checked cervix length. If there was a shortening then he would thought about putting a stitich in to help but this wasn't needed.

I'm now 29 weeks and all is well!

HTH

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neolara · 07/08/2009 14:47

Ah, yes, Muddle78 is right. When I said "loop diathermy" in my post, I should have said "cone biopsy".

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lauray1910 · 13/11/2014 13:49

i had lletz procedure year and a half again i had cin 3 i got pregnant recently went for my scan and my baby had died at 12 weeks and 6 days also had to have medical management ive got 3 other children aged 11, 9 and 4 so dont no if the lletz had anything to do with it ?

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poppet85 · 15/11/2014 10:02

I ve had that treatmeant and from what I gather took a slightly larger area of the cervix . I am 28 weeks and the dr/midwives havent seemed bothered by it noones even mentioned it !! Its quite a common procedure and I am thankful everyday I had . I think theres a smallchance I will labour early but from 37 weeks onwards your good to go anyway !!

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Chatty987 · 15/11/2014 22:52

Ask for cervical scan and to see a obs& gynae consultant. I had cin3 and LLETZ a few months before getting pregnant. Had incompetent/short cervix and needed cervical stitch. Best to be on safe side and get midwife to refer you to appropriate specialists.

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NewEraNewMindset · 15/11/2014 22:55

I had a LLETZ procedure a few years before I fell pregnant with my son and had no problems whatsoever.

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sillymillyb · 15/11/2014 23:03

I had cin 3 and 2 loop biopsies a few months before I became pregnant. I had a few bleeds during my pregnancy, and was warned may need a stitch and to be prepared for early labour. Ds was born exactly on due date, no stitch needed - but I did have incompetent cervix and labour was only 4 hours from first twinge to holding ds. I was told it is equally as common for it to stall labour though so I don't know if my experience is normal!

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Teags · 19/11/2014 06:19

I know this Is quite an old thread and noticed there are some new posts so I thought why not give it a shot. I have just had a lletz procedure done today under a local so of course you hear everything the doctors have to say like how short your cervix is and needing some kind of tool to pull at it to perform the actual procedure and then actually seeing the size of the samples they take. This is my second lletz I had one previously under a general four years ago. Anyway after the procedure I am left feeling a little down as I have not had kids yet and the doctors have said the shortness of my cervix could be a concern for pregnancy, I thought I would come on here and just see if there is anyone else who has had 2 procedures and has an extremely short cervix but has still managed to go through pregnancy ok.

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thisismypassword · 14/01/2015 18:25

I'm going to revive this thread again.I went to see a consultant about the fact I've had 1 lletz treatment and I'm worried about 2nd trimester miscarriage. He and a midwife just kept on saying that it's not NHS protocol to scan the cervix of a woman who's only had 1 lletz. I felt they were just trying to get rid of me. I have read a few journals and the general concensus is that it doesn't matter how many treatments you've had, it's the amount of tissue that's been taken.

has anyone had a lletz then been pregnant? What are your experiences?

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EssiesInvisibleLlama · 14/01/2015 18:45

Hi password, I've had 3 lletz, 2 biopsies, and then a dilation to sort out the scarring when cervix scarred shut. All in all that took 3 years, got the all clear in Sept, found out I was pregnant in Dec, I'm now 8 weeks. I haven't seen the midwife yet to book in, but am hoping they will refer me for monitoring. However, if they don't and won't take an interest I will go for a private scan to measure cervix which is available at most private ultrasound clinics and costs just £50 at the one I plan to go to. As I've had quite a lot of tissue removed from my cervix I am keen to have some reassurance that it's up to the job! Hope this helps. Good luck.

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EssiesInvisibleLlama · 14/01/2015 18:56

p.s the cervical scan is usually done between 22-24 weeks.

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pizdets · 14/01/2015 19:09

Hi had lletz about 8 years ago and had a cervix scan at 13 weeks due to this. I was told that it was very rare that it caused complications but in my case my cervix was short and I had the stitch at 15 weeks. It was removed at 37 weeks and DS came at 40+1 after a fairly standard labour. I think everyone's different but if you can get your cervix checked for peace of mind it would probably be worth it. Good luck with your pregnancy!

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Chatty987 · 14/01/2015 19:13

I had LLETZ treatment in May then got pregnant in June. Told midwife and made very clear wanted consultant appointment to discuss. Had cervical scan at 16 weeks and cervical stitch 2 days later as cervix measured 1.6cm. One month off work thereafter on partial bed rest/reduced activity and monitored every 2 weeks by consultant. Now at 34 weeks and all well so far.

Thesis password/essies: Insist upon getting seen by the right obs/gynae consultants and early on (e.g around 12-13 weeks). NHS been brilliant but would have gone private if wasn't listened to. Any treatment/procedure to cervix prior to pregnancy should be taken seriously. Good luck.

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