Elective cesarean hysterectomy for treatment of cervical neoplasia. An update.

From January 1, 1979, to March 31, 1991, 37 patients underwent elective cesarean hysterectomy for early cervical neoplasia. Thirty-four patients had cervical intraepithelial neoplasia III, and three patients had stage IA-1 squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. Twenty-eight were primary cesarean sections; nine had obstetric indications. The mean operative time was 128 minutes; mean estimated blood loss was 1,400 mL. One patient experienced an intraoperative hemorrhage (3,500 mL). There were no other recognized intraoperative complications. Four significant postoperative complications included a vaginal cuff abscess, a wound dehiscence and pelvic abscess, one patient with febrile morbidity and an ileus and ligation with partial transection of a ureter. Patients were discharged on a mean of postoperative day 5.7. Although significant complications occurred, we believe that the noncompliant nature of our patient population justifies elective cesarean hysterectomy for treatment of cervical neoplasia.