Diathermy coning in the treatment of non-malignant conditions of the cervix.

JOBERT DE LAMBALLE (1843) advocated and practised treatment of the eroded cervix by cauterisation using a glowing iron; he noted that the procedure was painless. Later, Brandes (1846) in Germany popularized the method, using a wooden or ivory speculum to avoid burning the vaginal epithelium and followed the cauterisation by a douche of cold water. In more recent years various methods of chemical cauterisation have been recommended, but they have never been as popular as the actual cautery. Hunner (1906) suggested treating cervical lesions with deep radial cauterisation, and Dickinson (191 1) used a fine nasal tip cautery to produce the same effect. Hyams (1933) reported on the use of an electrosurgical cutting and coagulation technique which has been termed 'diathermy coning of the cervix'. The present study deals with 100 patients with chronic cervicitis treated by this technique in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, from January 1964 to June 1965