Surgery to remove part or all of the cervix and nearby tissues is the main treatment for early-stage cervical cancer. Cervical cancer surgery can be performed in a few ways, depending on the extent of your cancer and whether you want to have children someday.
Conization, or Cone Biopsy
During this procedure, a doctor removes a cone-shaped wedge of tissue from the cervix using one of the following tools:
- Surgical blade during a cone knife biopsy
- Laser beam during a laser conization
- Heated wire during a loop electrical incision procedure
Conization is used to diagnose and treat early cervical cancer. This procedure may be an option if your cancer hasn’t spread, and it could preserve your ability to get pregnant.
Radical Trachelectomy
This procedure is used for smaller cervical cancers and also preserves the ability to get pregnant. A surgeon removes the cervix, the tissue around it, the upper part of the vagina, and sometimes nearby lymph nodes, but the uterus remains in place.
During pregnancy, a stitch is put in the uterus to keep it closed in place of the cervix.
Hysterectomy
Hysterectomy is a treatment for invasive cervical cancer that has spread deeper into the cervix and maybe the surrounding tissues.
A surgeon removes the uterus, cervix, and sometimes nearby organs and tissues.
A hysterectomy can be performed through the belly (abdominal hysterectomy) or vagina (vaginal hysterectomy). A laparoscopic hysterectomy is a minimally invasive procedure done through small incisions in the belly instead of one large cut.
After a hysterectomy, you will not be able to get pregnant.
The type of hysterectomy performed is based on how much tissue is removed:
- Total hysterectomy removes the uterus and cervix.
- Modified radical hysterectomy takes out the uterus, cervix, part of the vagina, and some tissues and ligaments close to these organs. It’s less extensive than a radical hysterectomy.
- Radical hysterectomy removes the uterus, cervix, part of the vagina, and a wide area of tissues around these organs. This surgery may also include removal of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and nearby lymph nodes.
Pelvic Exenteration
Pelvic exenteration is a more extensive surgery to remove the uterus, cervix, vagina, ovaries, and lymph nodes. Other pelvic organs may also come out, such as the colon, rectum, and bladder, if the cancer has spread to those areas.
Pelvic exenteration is a major operation that’s done only after other treatments haven’t worked and the cancer has spread. Depending on which organs are removed, you may need another procedure to create a channel for waste to leave your body and to reconstruct the vagina.
