Last updated: 02/17/2009

The procedure is performed with the patient lying on her back with her legs in stirrups. General anesthesia is commonly used, although regional (spinal or epidural) or local anesthesia may also be used. A speculum is inserted into the vagina to hold...

it open during surgery.

There are several different methods that may be used to perform a cone biopsy. Cold-knife conization is the removal of a cone-shaped wedge of tissue with a scalpel (surgical knife). The tissue may also be removed using a carbon dioxide laser (called laser conization). A loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) uses low-voltage, high-frequency radio waves to excise the tissue. Some surgeons choose to cover the open cervical tissue with flaps of tissue stitched into place.

The tissue sample will then be examined under a microscope for the presence of cancerous cells. If abnormal cells are found around the edge of the biopsy, then further surgery will be required to excise any remaining cancer. If there is evidence of invasive cancer (i.e., the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues), then other treatments (more extensive surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation) may be recommended.