Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP)

Please note that you’ll need to bring someone with you to drive you home after your procedure. Before beginning your procedure, the team will check to make sure someone is waiting for you. 

Here are the steps to your procedure: 

• You'll lie on an exam table with your legs in stirrups or supports, as you would for a Pap smear. You will have a sticky pad placed on your upper thigh. 
• Your physician will insert a speculum into your vagina and will apply numbing medicine to your cervix.  
• They will look through a magnifying lens to see the tissue that needs to be removed. Then, they will use the loop tool to remove the tissue. This takes only a few seconds. 
• Finally, they will use a cotton swab to apply a medicine that prevents bleeding.  

From start to finish, the procedure takes about 20 to 30 minutes.  

Your provider will send a sample of the tissue to a pathologist for examination.  

You'll hear from your provider within two to three weeks with the results and recommendations for follow-up.

We recommend resting for the rest of the day.  

You might have some cramping afterward that feels like menstrual cramps. You can take over-the-counter pain medication, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen.  

You can go back to normal activities the day after your procedure. Don't have sex, douche, or use tampons for three weeks.

It's normal to have some vaginal discharge after LEEP. It can be pink, red, or brown/black and can look like coffee grounds.  

You might also have some spotting or light bleeding for up to two weeks.  

Call your provider if you have: 

• Heavy bleeding (soaking a pad in one hour or less) 
• A fever above 100 degrees F 
• Severe abdominal pain that doesn't respond to over-the-counter pain medication 
• A missed period