Objective: To assess the obstetric outcomes of our total laparoscopic radical trachelectomy (TLRT) cases for early stage cervical cancer.
Materials and methods: A total of 56 patients who underwent TLRT between December 2001 and August 2012 were reviewed retrospectively using clinicopathological, surgical, and follow-up data from patients' medical records.
Results: We performed this operation on 56 patients during the study period. The mean age of these 56 patients was 31.9 years (range 22-42 years). Fifty-three patients' fertility was preserved without requiring post-operative adjuvant treatment. Twenty-five women attempted to conceive, of whom 13 succeeded for a total of 21 pregnancies (52% pregnancy rate). Ten of these 21 pregnancies were the result of assisted reproductive technologies. Of those, 5 resulted in first trimester miscarriages, 2 in second trimester miscarriages, and 13 in live births. Ten pregnancies reached the third trimester. Preterm premature rupture of membranes (8/13, 61.5%) was the most common complication during pregnancy. The rate of preterm delivery was 47.6%. Three patients delivered at 22-28 weeks of gestational age. Two of these babies showed permanent damage: one has cerebral palsy; the other has developmental retardation. One pregnancy is ongoing.
Conclusion: TLRT is a useful technique associated with an excellent pregnancy rate in fertility-preserving surgery to treat early stage cervical cancer.
Keywords: Cervical cancer; Total laparoscopic radical trachelectomy.
© 2013.