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The treatment for CIN partly depends on whether it is grade 1, 2 or 3|.
Often, cells showing CIN 1 will return to normal without any treatment at all. If your colposcopist decides not to treat these minor changes, further screening tests should be done – with the first repeat test after six months – to make sure that more cell changes don’t take place. All doctors and researchers agree that CIN 2 and 3 should be treated.
The aim of treatments for CIN 2 and 3 is to remove the abnormal area while causing as little damage as possible to surrounding healthy tissue. It's also possible to destroy the abnormal cells, rather than remove them, although this isn’t commonly done.
Ways of removing the abnormal area include:
Ways of destroying the cells in the abnormal area so that normal cells can grow back in their place include:
Currently, LLETZ is the most common treatment method used.
Most women need only one of the treatments described here. All of the treatments are usually very effective at removing the abnormal cells. The type of treatment you have will depend on a number of factors. These will include the facilities available at your local hospital and the type of treatment that your doctor feels is best for you. It may be possible for the treatment to be done at the same time as your initial colposcopy appointment, or you may have to come back at a later date.
Most women only need one session of treatment. LLETZ, laser therapy, cryotherapy, cold coagulation and sometimes cone biopsies are normally carried out in a hospital outpatient clinic, using a local anaesthetic. This means that you can go home after treatment. You may prefer for someone to either come with you while you’re having the treatment or pick you up afterwards.
Before your treatment, the nurse will help you lie comfortably on the couch. The doctor will then use a speculum to hold your vagina open.
Try to relax as much as possible and don’t be afraid to ask the doctor or nurse any questions about your treatment. The treatment itself is likely to take around 5–10 minutes and although it may be uncomfortable, it isn’t painful.
LLETZ is the most common treatment for removing abnormal cells from the cervix. It’s sometimes called LEEP (loop electrosurgical excision procedure). It takes about 5–10 minutes and is usually done under local anaesthetic as an outpatient procedure. Sometimes, if a larger area of the cervix is treated, a general anaesthetic may be used.
Once you’re in a comfortable position, the doctor will put some local anaesthetic onto your cervix to numb it. The doctor uses the colposcope| to see a magnified image of your cervix and then, with a thin wire loop, cuts out the abnormal tissue. The loop is heated with an electric current, which cuts and seals the tissue at the same time.
The tissue will be sent off to a laboratory to check that all of the abnormal cells have been taken away. If the cells on the outer edge of the sample are normal, you won’t need any more treatment. However, if there are abnormal cells along the edge, it may mean there are still some cell changes on your cervix and you'll need another colposcopy to check.
LLETZ is not usually painful, but you may experience a period-like pain or a burning sensation. After the treatment, you may have some light bleeding or discharge which can last for a couple of weeks.
This is a way to diagnose CIN if the abnormal area can’t be seen clearly with a colposcope. It can also be used as a treatment for CIN. A small, cone-shaped piece of cervix| containing the abnormal cells is removed. This is usually done under local anaesthetic using a laser as a ‘knife’.
Under local anaesthetic, a laser beam is directed at the abnormal areas of your cervix and the cells are destroyed. During the treatment you may notice a slight burning smell from the laser. This is normal.
This is a misleading name as the abnormal cells are removed by heating, not cooling. Firstly, a local anaesthetic is given to numb your cervix, then a hot probe is placed onto its surface.
You'll be given a local anaesthetic, and a probe will be put on your cervix to freeze the abnormal cells. Cryotherapy has a slightly lower success rate than the other treatments for CIN and so it’s not often used.
A hysterectomy| is an operation to remove the womb. It is sometimes done for persistent or severe CIN if women have other gynaecological problems and are past childbearing age, or don’t want to have more children. For women who've not yet had the menopause, the ovaries won’t be removed with the womb, so this treatment will not bring on an early menopause.
Unless you’ve had a hysterectomy or possibly a LLETZ or cone biopsy, you will be able to go home from hospital on the day that you're treated.
Most women feel fine after LLETZ, cone biopsy, laser therapy, cryotherapy or cold coagulation, but some women feel slightly unwell for a few hours. It’s a good idea to have the day off work, in case you need to go home and rest. Also, many women find it helps to bring a relative or friend to support them and drive them home.
If your treatment was done under local anaesthetic, you may have some period-like pains for the rest of the day once the anaesthetic has worn off. You should expect to have some bleeding or discharge for a few days after these treatments. This usually stops within two weeks but may last for up to 4–6 weeks. The bleeding shouldn’t be heavier than a light period and should get steadily lighter.
You should contact your GP or the clinic where you had your treatment if:
Your doctor or nurse will probably advise you not to have sex for at least 3–4 weeks after your treatment to allow the cervix to heal properly. Treatments for CIN won’t affect your ability to enjoy sex once the cervix has healed. You may be advised not to use tampons for a few weeks. You should feel completely back to normal within about six weeks.
Research has shown that the treatments for CIN are usually very successful. Although most women will have no further problems and the CIN will not come back, all women still need to continue with regular cervical screening tests.
After any treatment for CIN you’ll need to have check-ups to make sure that the treatment has been successful.
If you had CIN 2 or 3, or cervical glandular intra-epithelial neoplasia (CGIN), you may have cervical screening tests six months and 12 months after treatment. You’ll then have a cervical screening test every year for nine years.
If you had treatment for CIN 1, screening may be done six months, 12 months and 24 months after treatment. If all these tests show a normal result, you’ll go back to routine screening, having cervical screening tests every 3–5 years, depending on your age.
After treatment, abnormal cells can sometimes come back and between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 women (5–10%) will have a recurrence. If this happens, you’ll be invited for another colposcopy and further treatment if necessary. Usually an excisional type of treatment such as loop excision, laser excision or cone biopsy is recommended if you’ve had previous treatment.
Very occasionally, if the abnormal cells continue to come back after treatment, some women are advised to have a hysterectomy to prevent them from developing cancer of the cervix. It’s sometimes possible to remove just the neck of the womb in an operation called a trachelectomy. This is mainly carried out on younger women who want to continue to have the possibility of becoming pregnant. You need to discuss all your options with your doctor.
Even if you've had a hysterectomy after an abnormal test or biopsy, you'll still need to have regular check-ups using liquid-based cytology| to take samples of cells from the top of the vagina. This is sometimes called a vaginal vault smear. Your GP or gynaecologist can organise this for you, as vault smears aren’t done as part of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme.
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