Transvaginal sonographic evaluation of cervix length after cervical conization.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate transvaginal sonographic cervical length before and after cervical conization for squamous intraepithelial lesions. METHODS: Between November 2002 and October 2004, all women undergoing conization by either cold-knife conization or a loop electrosurgical excision procedure for squamous intraepithelial lesions were prospectively enrolled in this study. Cervical length was measured by transvaginal sonography (TVS) before and after conization. RESULTS: A total of 48 women were studied before and after a mean of 7 days after conization. Complete excision was achieved in 41 patients, and endocervical margins were involved in 7 patients. Mean TVS cervical length was significantly shorter after than before conization (mean +/- SD, 22.7 +/- 6.9 versus 26.7 +/- 8.1 mm; P < .001). The correlation coefficient between cone specimen length and postoperative length was r = 0.75 (P < .001). Mean TVS cervical lengths were 24.3 +/- 6.7 mm in the group of women who underwent a loop electrosurgical excision procedure and 20.7 +/- 9.4 mm in the group of women who underwent cold-knife conization (P = .13). CONCLUSIONS: Transvaginal sonographic measurement of cervical length after conization is well correlated with cone specimen length.