Ultrastructural alterations in the ectocervical epithelium after cryotherapy

The central problem of the cryosurgery of the uterine cervix in gynaecological practice is the extension in depth of the tissue impairment. The ultrastructural alterations were studied in the surgical material of portioplasties performed two hours after cryotherapy of the non-malignant ectocervical changes of fertile women. For control, the unfrozen regions of the same cervix were used. The vacuolization of the cytoplasm and partial fragmentation of the mitochondria appear to be detectable and reversible changes. Parallelly, severe irreversible nuclear impairments can be demonstrated in the basal and parabasal layers of the cervical epithelium. The relative connective tissue insensitivity, in contrast to the damage of the epithelium, verifies the advantage of cryosurgery in the therapeutic applicability.