Removal of the retained cervical stump

The purpose of this study was to identify indications for and complications of abdominal or vaginal surgical removal of the cervical stump after previous supracervical hysterectomy.

This was a retrospective chart review of trachelectomy patients at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, or Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, between January 1974 and December 2003.

Of 335 patients with a history of supracervical hysterectomy who subsequently required trachelectomy, 25 were excluded from study. Half of the remaining 310 patients had trachelectomy between 1974 and 1983, an average of 26 years after hysterectomy. The indication in three quarters of trachelectomies performed vaginally was prolapse. The vaginal approach had significantly fewer complications than the abdominal approach.

Removal of the cervical stump is infrequent and has declined over a 30-year period. The decline in trachelectomy may be because of a decreasing number of supracervical hysterectomies performed. When trachelectomy is performed vaginally, prolapse is the most common indication, and there are few complications.