Ž . International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 72 2001 3134 Article Loop electrosurgical excision procedure of the cervix and time of delivery in subsequent pregnancy S.M. Althuisius, I.J. Schornagel, G.A. Dekker, H.P. van Geijn  , P. Hummel Di  ision of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Uni  ersity Hospital Vrije Uni  ersiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Received 17 March 2000; received in revised form 23 June 2000; accepted 28 June 2000 Abstract Ž . Objecti  e: To study the effect of the loop electrosurgical excision procedure LEEP on gestational age at delivery in the subsequent pregnancy. Method: Identification of women with LEEP. Chart analysis and inquiry into gestational age at the subsequent delivery. Exclusion of first trimester abortions, multiple gestations, cold knife conizations and women over 40 years during LEEP. For comparison, 40 weeks was used as the mean date of delivery in a normal population. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used and P 0.05 was considered significant. Result : Fifty-six women delivered after LEEP. Seven delivered preterm of whom three were induced and one had a history of preterm delivery. Deliveries prior to 32 weeks of gestation did not occur. Mean gestational age at delivery was 39 27 Ž . Ž . weeks 95%CI: 38 57  39 67 which is significantly earlier P 0.03 than the hypothetical 40 weeks. Conclusion: After LEEP, deliveries prior to 32 weeks did not occur. Gestational age at delivery was only 5 days earlier than expected. LEEP cannot be considered a risk for early preterm delivery.  2001 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. All rights reserved. Keywords: Loop electrosurgical excision procedure; Subsequent pregnancy; Preterm delivery 1. Introduction The loop electrosurgical excision procedure Ž . LEEP of the cervix was introduced as manage- ment for women with cervical intraepithelial neo-  Corresponding author. Fax: 31-20-4444811.  plasia by Prendiville and co-workers in 1989 1. The traditional management until that time had been conization of the cervix, nowadays called cold knife conization to distinguish it from LEEP and other hot knife procedures. Cold knife conization is known for complications such as  operative and post-operative hemorrhage 2 . Fur- thermore, several authors have associated cold 0020-729201$20.00  2001 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. All rights reserved. Ž . PII: S 0 0 2 0 - 7 2 9 2 00 00326-X