Outpatient Procedures

LEEP Excision of the Cervix

LEEP is an acronym for "loop electrosurgical excision procedure." This procedure may be recommended after abnormal pap test results have been confirmed by a colposcopy. This procedure will be performed at Sovah Health as an outpatient procedure.

During LEEP, abnormal cells are cut away from the cervix using a thin wire loop through which an electrical current is passed. The biopsied tissue is then sent to a pathologist for review. Typically, your will receive pathology results within seven office days.

Prior to LEEP, it is recommended that you take ibuprofen (with food) one hour prior to your scheduled exam. The ibuprofen will help with the mild cramping that may follow the procedure. While recovery depends upon the extent of the procedure, typically, women return to light to normal activities within one to three days. It is important that you avoid intercourse, douching, tampons and strenuous activities for four weeks following LEEP.

Bilateral Tubal Ligation

A bilateral tubal ligation is commonly referred to as having your "tubes tied." During this procedure (while you are under general anesthesia), one or two small incisions are made in the abdomen (usually near the navel), and a small instrument called a laparoscope (similar to a telescope on a flexible tube) is inserted.

Using instruments that are then inserted through the laparoscope, the fallopian tubes are sealed shut. This process virtually blocks the fallopian tubes. It prevents pregnancy by blocking the egg from traveling to the uterus, and by preventing the sperm from traveling through the fallopian tubes.

Following the outpatient procedure, the skin incision is closed. Most often, you are feeling well enough to return home within a few hours.

Most women are able to return to normal activities within a few days.

Diagnostic Laparoscopy

During a diagnostic laparoscopic procedure, your Doctor will be able to view your abdomen or pelvis (including the gallbladder, appendix, liver, large bowel, small bowel, fallopian tubes, ovaries and uterus). Your Seasons surgeon will typical use diagnostic laparoscopy to determine if a problem exists that has not been discovered with other noninvasive diagnostic tests.

The procedure is performed under general anesthesia, either in the hospital or on an outpatient basis.

Making a small incision below your navel, a narrow, flexible tube (a device similar to a small video camera telescope) is inserted inside your abdomen, giving your Doctor the ability to view inside your body. Additional small incisions are also made if other instruments are needed to give your surgeon a better view of specific organs.

In the case of gynecologic laparoscopy, your surgeon may utilize dye injected into your cervix so that he or she can have an improved view of your fallopian tubes.