excision

1. The act of cutting out; the surgical removal of part or all of a structure or organ. SYN: resection (3). 2. In molecular biology, a recombination event in which a genetic element is removed. SYN: exeresis. [L. excido, to cut out]

- loop e. a diagnostic and therapeutic gynecological surgical technique for removing dysplastic cells from the cervix. SYN: loop electrosurgical e. procedure, loop resection.In this office procedure, a small wire loop is used to excise visible zones of abnormal epithelium from the uterine cervix. Like cautery, cryosurgery, and CO₂ laser procedures, loop e. is a simple and inexpensive way of removing dyplastic cells. Unlike these procedures, it provides a specimen so that the lesion can be studied histologically and the completeness of its removal assessed. The cervix is first prepared with acetic acid and iodine solutions to enhance the demarcation of abnormal areas. Under local anesthesia and with colposcopic visualization, lesions are quickly undercut with a disposable loop electrode. The risk of complications (bleeding, severe postoperative pain, infection, cervical stenosis) is low. The success rate of the loop electrosurgical e. procedure, as defined by the absence of cytologic, histologic, or colposcopic evidence of abnormality 4–48 months after therapy, is 80–90%. Although loop e. does not cure human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, it offers excellent prognosis in HPV-induced dysplasias by removing transformation zone epithelium, which is most susceptible to such changes. The procedure is not appropriate for severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ, which are treated by cervical conization.

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ex·ci·sion ik-'sizh-ən n surgical removal or resection (as of a diseased part)

ex·ci·sion·al -'sizh-nəl, -ən-əl adj

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ex·ci·sion (ek-sizhґən) [L. excisio, from ex out + caedere to cut] removal of a portion or all of an organ or other structure. Called also resection and ectomy.