Surgery for Recurrent Cervical Carcinoma

AJ Papadopoulos, O Devaja, R Nath, GD Wilbanks, KS Raju
Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust, London, England

Summary

Recurrent disease occurs in approximately 35% of cervical cancer cases. Evaluation of the patient includes assessing the extent of disease and performance status for surgery. Exploratory laparotomy determines the extent of disease and the appropriateness of planned surgery. The choice of exenterative procedure varies according to the site and extent of recurrence. Exenteration is associated with a significant number of complications, but has achieved 5-year survival rates of between 19-50% in selected patients.