Length but not transverse diameter of the excision specimen for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2-3) is a predictor of pregnancy outcome

The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of cone characteristics (depth, transverse diameter, and volume) on subsequent pregnancies after the loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2-3). Pregnancy outcomes (preterm birth, gestational age at birth, mode of delivery, and birth weight) of 501 women with singleton gestations and no previous preterm birth or history of late miscarriage, who had previously undergone a single LEEP for CIN 2-3, were retrospectively analyzed with respect to length, transverse diameter, and volume of the excision specimen. The overall incidence of preterm birth was 2.4%. The rate of preterm birth in women with length greater than 20mm or volume greater than 2.5 cm3 was significantly higher than that in women with length between 15 and 19mm (15.6 vs. 3.9%, P=0.02) or women with volume between 2.0 and 2.4 cm3 (5.8 vs. 1.6%, P=0.04). A linear inverse correlation (r=-0.3, P