Two successful births after cervical cancer surgery

On May 23, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital announced that it had performed 20 fertility-preserving hysterectomies for early-stage cervical cancer.

This is a new technique to preserve fertility for women with cervical cancer. The good news is that there have been two successful births after this surgery.

Patient LNNP. (34 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) was hospitalized with a diagnosis of stage 1A1 cervical cancer. The patient underwent cone biopsy in July 2023 and radical hysterectomy in August 2023.

After surgery, the patient became pregnant and received prenatal care at a specialized maternity hospital. The pregnancy progressed normally, and at 22 weeks of pregnancy, the patient underwent laparoscopic cervical cerclage surgery and no fetal abnormalities were detected.

On April 16, 2024, the patient was proactively delivered by cesarean section, and the baby boy weighed 3.4 kg and was born safely and healthily.

Previously, Ms. NTTT (39 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) was also diagnosed with cervical cancer. After that, the patient underwent a hysterectomy to preserve reproductive function.

Nearly two years later, Ms. T. became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

Doctor Nguyen Van Tien, Head of the Department of Gynecological Surgery, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, said that cervical cancer is a common disease and has a relatively high mortality rate among all types of cancer in women, ranking third after breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Cervical cancer is usually diagnosed in women of reproductive age. The disease tends to develop in middle age, with 50% of patients diagnosed between the ages of 35 and 55. However, cervical cancer is becoming increasingly younger, with more and more patients being diagnosed under the age of 30.

The most common treatment for cervical cancer today is hysterectomy and radical chemotherapy and radiation therapy. After treatment, the patient will no longer be able to reproduce.

However, in response to the desire of patients to become mothers, since 2018, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital has implemented the technique of cervical cancer surgery to preserve reproductive function at an early stage. This is the first hospital in Vietnam to perform this technique.

However, according to Dr. Nguyen Van Tien, not all cases of cervical cancer can be treated with this method. Only patients who detect the disease very early, at stage 1B1, when the tumor is still small, less than 2cm, and meet other strict conditions can be treated with this method.

Since 2018, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital has performed fertility preservation surgery for 20 women with early-stage cervical cancer, giving patients the opportunity to become mothers.