When the HPV vaccines have not worked and the virus is causing the first pre-cancer cells in the cervix, it is time to act quickly and it is likely that your gynecologist will suggest one of these solutions used as treatments for precancerous HPV cells. or human papillomavirus .
Main Treatments for precancerous HPV cells
Cryotherapy
With a high success rate, it occurs only in mild cases with minimal lesions and consists of freezing the pre-cancer cells in the area by probe.
This treatment is applied in an extremely short time, between 5 minutes so that the cells that are present in this area can be completely frozen and eliminated without the need for surgery, to promote the growth of healthy cells.
It is an outpatient intervention, in which a probe is inserted into the vaginal area, as if it were a revision, and all the abnormal cells in the cervical area are gradually frozen to end the problem. The effectiveness of this technique is reflected in the 85-90% where these pre-cancer cells do not reappear in the area.
However, if the removal process of the affected area is not carried out correctly and the cells are not completely eliminated, you can choose to go through the same procedure again or try other techniques that are more invasive and therefore more effective.
This technique causes in certain cases a slight pelvic discomfort or feeling of cold, being the majority of the interventions painless and without any complications during or after it.
Electrosurgical extraction by loop
Requiring local anesthesia , it is an outpatient operation with which the affected area is removed with a hot handle or scalpel, making a cervical cone.
It presents a greater efficiency than the previous one, since when removing the area with the pre-cancer cells, a little more tissue is usually taken and removed with which it is guaranteed that the disease does not reappear.
It is one of the most used treatments for this type of case , since all the interventions that have been registered to date, have an 85% effectiveness on the part of the patient, to whom they have been performed again. relevant tests after extraction; and it has been observed that the malformations have not been reproduced.
Cold conization with scalpel
It is about the elimination of the area affected by these cells, and it is carried out only in case of great suspicion of cells that have become cancerous.
This intervention is performed in the hospital due to the great complication of its performance. It is done through intravenous or local anesthesia as needed by the case and according to the extension of said cells in the affected area.
Despite its complication, it is an outpatient procedure in which hospitalization of the patient is not required , and in which all the necessary procedures must be carried out as if it were a normal surgical intervention, with fasting and the signature of the relevant authorization for the case.
The decision to perform it is made when, after performing the biopsy of the cells of the cervix, it is determined that they are carcinogenic in their early stages, and therefore an almost immediate extraction is required to prevent them from increasing in size, spreading and especially that they derive in other more advanced stages of the disease.
At first, undergoing this procedure does not generate any risk for the patient , but sometimes the following can be observed:
- An abnormal bleeding.
- Cervical insufficiency, leading to premature labor.
- Vaginal or urine infection with the relevant discomfort of the same.
- Excessive cervical scarring that can lead to excessive pain during menstruation, premature births, difficulty in diagnosing cytologies and especially difficulty in pregnancy.
All of them harmless at first, and rare among the registered cases of said procedure, but not impossible for them to occur.
Steps of the procedure
After performing the procedure, they will go through various stages depending on the week in which it is after the extraction, in the first stages, comprising the period of 2 to 3 weeks after conization, a fluid may be presented:
- Bloody.
- Abundant.
- With a slight yellowish tone.
After these first weeks, different symptoms may be observed between the following 4 and 6 weeks, in which the symptoms of:
- Pain.
- Cramps in the pelvic area.
For this, certain habits should be avoided, which are:
- Douching of any kind.
- Have sex.
- Use tampons to contain bleeding.
With all of them it does not imply that the symptoms are permanent , since they will disappear after a few weeks after undergoing conization.
Once a reasonable time has elapsed in which new tests can be carried out, the patient will be summoned so that all the evaluations with which the stock of cells in the cervix of the uterus can be carried out again; This being the definitive one to be able to catalog the type of cancer that you suffer and knowing at that moment if it will appear again or not in the same or in other areas.
After this examination, a decision may be made, in which an action plan will be considered. In any case with the trusted doctor, who will be in charge of advising on other alternative techniques that may be more appropriate depending on the specific case to be treated.
