Surgical treatment of patients with hour glass shaped or ruptured membranes prior to the twenty-fifth week of gestation.

The surgical technique of cervical cerclage in patients with bulging membranes prior to the twenty-fourth week of gestation is described. Of the 11 patients, ten had viable births. Ten of the 11 patients had spontaneous rupture of their membranes, lasting from two and one-half to 14 weeks. The only adverse effects of rupture of membranes were preterm labor and fetal growth retardation.