Odd pap smear

Hello. I had a hysterectomy in 2002. I then had my ovaries removed last year. Neither surgery was the result of cancer.
I went for my annual last week and asked the nurse why I continued to need pap smears. She told me that there was still tissue there that needed testing. Today, after getting home from a day surgery to remove scar tissue from a summer shoulder replacement, my gyn doctor's office called and told me I had a class II pap result. She also told me I had a bacterial infection and called out some Flagyl. We scheduled for another pap smear in 4 months.
My questions are - Could the infection be causing the odd pap? and Should I be worried? I would appreciate any shared experiences on this matter.

Thanks,
Patty

Hi !
I went for my 5 week post op today and my doctor told me it was VERY rare to have dysplasia or cancer in the vaginal area once everything was gone. I was concerned since I had pre cancer of the cervix. It does happen, but it doesnt happen alot. I wouldn't worry about it right now if I were you. Infections can make those paps come out bad.

Best Wishes !

i did a search of pap smear results and found that a class II is usually a sign of some type of infection and after treatment all signs are gone.
I also had a bacterial infection after my sx which showed up on a pap which I also was prescribed flagyl for.

Hi (((Patty))) I'm sorry you're now dealing with this

Ages ago, I also had a bad Pap smear and it was also due to an infection. The infection was actually detected during analysis of the smear. A round of Flagyl and all was ok. At the time, my doctor didn't even bring up the possibility of cancer This was long before I had my hyst.

	Quote:
Originally Posted by pattycakes514 My questions are - Could the infection be causing the odd pap? and Should I be worried?

Here are the different classes of pap smear results and what they mean:

Class 1
normal
No treatment required

Class 2
atypical (could be caused by inflammation or infection)
You're physician may recommend another Pap Smear or Colposcopy

Class 3
dysplasia or pre- cancerous, low grade
Colposcopy is required to diagnose cause; possible further treatment

Class 4
high grade dysplasia or CIC (carcinoma in- situ; cancer but, non- invasive)
Coloposcopy required with possible Cone biopsy or LEEP procedure

Class 5
Cancer, invasive
Coloposcopy to determine severity and further recommended treatment

You can read more about abnormal paps here:

http://womenshealth.about.com/cs/pap...normalpaps.htm

According to the information above, I wouldn't worry too much about the abnormal pap, as it seems it could have been the result of the infection.

Here is my experience with abnormal paps. Mine were said to be "atypical" which you be the Class II. As I had several of them in a row, I had to have the colposcopy. My lab results came back as no cancer, and once I was diagnosed with endo, they feel that may have been causing my "atypical" paps. I still have one every year, even though I am 5 yrs post hyst.

Check with your dr about your questions, but yes, it is possible that the infection is causing your abnormal pap. If you continue to have abnormal paps, they should test further, regardless of Class.

Best wishes!

You've gotten some great replies here! A class 2 is what they also call ASCUS (that's the new terminology) or atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance.

Atypical is a scary sounding word, but it's the best descriptor they could find (I guess) when a cell isn't really abnormal, but it isn't normal either. These are frequently caused by infections. They can also happen if the vaginal environment isn't quite right due to recent (within the previous 48 hours) douching or intercourse.

I'm glad to hear your doc is going to re-PAP in a few months. If it should come back atypical again, then it might be appropriate to have it investigated further, just to make sure that all is in order. In the meantime, take any medications your doctor has prescribed and just be as healthy as possible! Let us know how it goes when your re-PAP is done!