Pregnancies following radical trachelectomy for the treatment of early-stage cervical cancer

In western countries, women frequently delay childbearing until the mid-thi rties. Conversely, about one third of all cervical cancers are diagnosed pr ior to the age of 40. Consequently, a fairly high proportion of women will be affected by this disease before having had the chance to carry on a preg nancy. The vaginal radical trachelectomy (VRT) procedure, a variant of the Schauta operation, was first described by Professor Daniel Dargent from Fra nce. The trachelectomy, preceded by a complete laparoscopic bilateral pelvi c lymphadenectomy, fulfills the oncologic requirements for the surgical man agement of cervical cancer while preserving the body of the uterus for futu re pregnancy. We report our data on our first 41 planned cases and discuss the indication, role and outcome of this conservative procedure. We also re port the fertility rate and obstetrical outcome after the VRT procedure.