The New Indian Journal of OBGYN. 11(1):4-10
Overview of thermal ablation and LLETZ in cervical premalignant lesions: a narrative review
Sumedha Gupta, Shalu, Dheer Singh Kalwaniya, Saritha Shamsunder
ABSTRACT
Cervical cancer is one of the commonest cancers in developing countries. For the treatment of cervical precancerous lesions, either ablative or excision methods are used. These procedures can be performed for VIA or HPV-positive women without colposcopic or histological verification (“screen and treat”) in situations where these diagnostic services are not available. Also, the decision to treat a CIN lesion may be based on colposcopic findings (“see and treat”) without waiting for histological verification. The ablative method is relatively easy to perform and less time consuming with minimal post procedure complications, whereas the excision method provides the tissue for histopathological diagnosis with certain post-operative complications, including pregnancy related complications like preterm birth and premature rupture of membranes. Both of these procedures have certain indications and limitations. In this review article, we explain both ablation and excision procedures in detail.