Trachelorrhaphy 



627 



sutures should be forceps-tied because the suturing is usu- 

 ally so much within the vaginal introitus or cervical canal 

 that digital tying exerts too great a strain upon the mucosal 

 margins. 



Tears or lacerations of the cervical lips heal more rapidly 

 than do those of the endocervix at or anterior to the first 

 fold. The endocervical mucosa on one side and the vaginal 

 mucosa on the other soon become fused, with the formation, 

 however, of considerable eschar tissue. This causes a gap- 



FiG. 199 — Laceration of Lips of Cervix Uteri. 



/ Vaginal mucosa ; 2, vaginal aspect of cervical lip ; 3, endocervical aspect 

 ' of lip- 4 intensely inflamed first annular fold. On the right side are 

 showii the margins of an old laceration, the posterior angles of 

 which are held apart by the lower forceps. 



