Surgery

Many different treatments are available for dysplasia and cancer of the cervix. The choice of treatment depends on the type and degree of abnormal cells present, and the woman's desire to preserve her fertility. Surgery is only recommended for early-stage small cancers that are confined to the cervix.

The procedures most commonly used to treat early-stage cervical cancer include:

• LEEP surgery
  A small, low-voltage wire loop is used with cautery to remove a piece of the cervix.

• Laser surgery
  A laser beam is used to burn off cells or to remove a small piece of tissue.

• Cone biopsy
  A cone biopsy can be used for more extensive lesions or for those lesions that extend further into the cervical canal. A cone-shaped piece of tissue is removed from the cervix for examination.

LEEP surgery, laser treatments and cone biopsies are usually performed for dysplasia and not invasive cancer of the cervix. Women with early-stage, minimally invasive cancer who wish to preserve their fertility may be considered for cone biopsy. All of these procedures are performed on an outpatient basis.

Other procedures used to treat cervical cancer include:

• Simple hysterectomy
  The uterus is removed, but not the tissue next to the uterus. A simple hysterectomy is used only after a cone biopsy has been done to ensure that the cancer is only minimally invasive.

• Radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection
  The uterus and the tissues next to it, including the upper part of the vagina and the lymph nodes from the pelvis are removed. This is the most common surgical procedure for cervical cancer. However, it is only appropriate when the cancer has not spread to the walls of the pelvis.

• Radical trachelectomy
  In early-stage cancer, it may be possible to remove the pelvic lymph nodes and the cervix and retain the uterus for future pregnancy, using this procedure. Only a few gynecological cancer surgeons perform radical trachelectomies.

• Pelvic exenteration
  When the cancer has returned after radiation treatment, this operation is used to remove the uterus, fallopian tubes, lymph nodes, ovaries, either the bladder or the rectum (in rare cases, both) and part or all of the vagina.

Back to Introduction to treatment