Surgery tomorrow - 1 last question (Cervix or no cervix)

So, was gonna have a supracervical abdominal hysterectomy ... now after talking to a surgical nurse friend - she said no to keeping the cervix as I may be back in 5-10 yrs for a prolapse of the cervix taking it out.....

thoughts?
opinions?
experiences?

I'm having it all out, just don't wanna have to have surgery again, plus I've had to have a LEEP before for pre-cancerous cells.

EndOfMyRope -

I am so new to this myself but in my case the cervix had to go, didn't have a choice. I just wanted to wish you good luck tomorrow. I hope to see you soon on the other side

I decided to keep mine. Reasons for keeping it:
1. No bad pap smears to date
2. Less invasive surgery (less cutting of ligaments and less surgery around the bladder)
3. Possible support for pelvic floor (not proven though)
4. No vaginal cuff (stitches are way up inside your abdomen on the other side of the cervix)
5. No possible shortening of the vagina (vagina feels exactly the same as before)
6. Recovery is slightly faster or easier because of the less invasive surgery (I had no pain the day after surgery, however, I have no idea if it was due to less cutting or what)

Cons that I aware of:
1. Possibility of having to have it removed later (If it comes to that, I am okay with that)
2. Possibility of mini-periods (I am okay with that too as they wouldn't be as bad as what I had before)
3. Need to continue to have Pap smears. (I am okay with that too as some doctors want you to have vaginal vault smears even if you don't have a cervix)
4. Well this isn't a con but if you decide to get rid of it, you can have a vaginal hyster depending on what your issues are. If you keep it, you have to have laparoscopic if it is possible or an abdominal. You cannot have a vaginal hyster and keep the cervix.

If there are some pros or cons that I missed, I hope that other ladies will post them. For me, the pros outweighed the cons. Sex is exactly the same for me. Aside from a scar across the bottom of my tummy, I feel exactly the same as before and that was important to me as I felt just fine before my hyster.

Hope this helps.

OK - this is TOO weird. I was just logging on to post the exact same question.

I had not really thought about whether to keep the cervix or not until this weekend. Had a conversation with a friend who kept her after hers hysterectomy and said her concerns related to maintaing quality of intercourse and orgasms, and the maintaining the pelvic floor. I called my gyn onc this afternoon (my surgery is next week) and asked him what my choices were. He recommended removal of the cervix as apparently there have been multiple studies looking at the quality of sexual experience and also the pelvic floor concern - neither were proven to be true. That being said there is possibility of bleeding (light periods), possibilty of needing additional surgery to remove it due to prolapse later on, and if you have any hx of abnormal paps or cervical dysplasia, you need to continue with pap smears and run the risk of cervical cancer.

I'm still not sure what to do. Most women I have talked to had it removed (not knowing they might have a choice), and report no change in quality of sexual experience.

I think a little more research for me is going to put my inquiring mind to rest......

please let us know what you decide and why! Best of luck with your surgery - we'll be sending you lots of warm thoughts and prayers!

My story and experience echo Danni's. I'm 3 months post op and so far I'm very happy with my choice to keep my cervix.

Mine is coming out! I have painfull sex feels like my husband is punching a very bruised charlie horse and I spot with sex. Not sure if its the cervix bleeding. My Dr assured me that sex and orgasm will be fine and nothing is proven. I know that it's just a "mini period" that you can get if it stays I also did not want to go through all of this and still spot. I am DONE!! I can't wait to throw out the tampax LOL maybe today will be the day being surgery is tomorrow.
Thinking of you today and hope surgery is smooth and a easy recovery. Look forward to seeing you on the other side.

I had my cervix removed - and at 7 weeks out (cleared for intercourse at 6 weeks) I can tell you I have had NO issues with my sexual function.

I echo Danni too - I kept mine and am very glad I did.
I realise "nothing is proven" but even if the evidence is mostly anecdotal I didn't want to risk ruining a lovely aspect of my marriage!
Apart from that, what swung it for me was that I didn't want a second op later on. Ironically, some docs use that as a reason to lose it, but another "not proven" issue is that keeping the cervix may LOWER your chances of bladder/bowel prolapse in later years. "Not proven" doesn't mean there are no grounds for thinking that way - it's not proven false any more than it's proven true! So I figured I'd play safe and keep it, and maybe in the future we'll find that further studies prove these things true rather than false; if they're proved false I haven't done myself any harm by keeping my cervix!

To make sure everyone understands, the cervix is not a separate organ but rather the neck of the uterus. When the cervix is kept, it has to be cut from the rest of the uterus.

I am over 10 years out, my aunt (no blood relation) and SIL are over 15 years out, and my mom is over 20 years out from our hysterectomies. I know other women who had complete hysterectomies as well. We all had surgery for a variety of reasons but as women who have had and now don't have a cervix so we are personally aware of both options, none of us had had issues with having the entire uterus removed, nor have any of us shared that our sex lives been impaired. I know for sure I made the right decision for me and my mom, aunt, and SIL all agree, too.

There are respected doctors on both sides of this issue which research and studies to back their positions. There are strong personal opinions on both sides of the issue with women pleased with their decisions and women not pleased with their decisions, whether they were to keep or remove the cervix.

Each woman has to determine what is best for her, if she has the choice regarding keeping her cervix, as the pros and cons can change depending on her own situation and diagnosis, skill of the doctor, and more For instance, a woman with prolapse issues isn't likely to find the cervix helps with any pelvic floor support since it is already part of the prolapsing problem! As another member mentioned, if the cervix is already contributing to painful sex, keeping it won't provide sexual pleasure!

Whatever each woman decides, I hope it is the right choice for her!

s