title: Successful pregnancy with the use of vaginal pessary in a patient with a very short cervix. A case report.
abstract: Preterm birth is one of the causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality. The traditional treatment for a short cervix has been the cerclage in addition with the progesterone administration. Recently, the idea of using vaginal pessaries as a new less invasive method of treatment for the same indication is under discussion. The case of a 29-year-old pregnant woman with an extremely short cervix and the treatment, she underwent during her second pregnancy, is presented. In order to avoid a preterm delivery the patient was treated with the use of a vaginal pessary. After the placement of the pessary and its removal after 37 weeks of gestation, a full term delivery was performed. The pessary was symptom free throughout. In conclusion, the cervical pessary may offer a safe and easy alternative to cerclage for the treatment of cervical insufficiency and prevention of preterm birth.
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecological Department, Clinic "Lito", Kalamata, Greece.
authors.forename: G M D
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Louras
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecological Department, Clinic "Lito", Kalamata, Greece.
authors.forename: G M D
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Tzifa
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, University of Peloponnese, Sparta, Greece.
authors.forename: K M D
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Hatziveis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010570:Pessaries; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000517:prevention & control*; D047929:Term Birth; D002581:Uterine Cervical Incompetence / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Cervical cerclage; Preterm birth; Short cervix; Vaginal pessary