Comparison of the effectiveness of topical silicone gel and corticosteroid cream on the pfannenstiel scar prevention — a randomized controlled trial

  Objectives: To compare the effects of topical silicone gel and corticosteroid cream for preventing hypertrophic scar and keloid formation following Pfannenstiel incisions. Material and methods: Fifty patients operated for benign gynecological diseases through primary Pfannenstiel incision were included. The wounds were randomly allocated to the treatment and control arms. In the treatment arm, the wounds were divided into two halves; one was treated with silicone gel and the other with methylprednisolone cream. No treat­ment was administered to the control group. Scars using the modified Vancouver Scar Scale (MVSS), patient satisfaction, and side effects were evaluated before and after (3rd month when treatment discontinued and 6th month) the treatment. Results: Thirty-nine patients (21 patients in the treatment group and 18 patients in the control group) completed the stu­dy. Intragroup comparisons of the 3rd month and 6th month scores of the MVSS revealed that the scores of all parameters (height, pigmentation, vascularity, pliability, and total MVSS score) significantly decreased at the 6th month evaluation as compared with the 3rd month evaluation in all groups (control, silicone, and methylprednisolone groups). Multiple group comparisons at the 6th month revealed that the most prominent improvements occurred in the methylprednisolone group in all MVSS parameters as compared with the control group and in the height, vascularity, and pigmentation parameters as compared with the silicone group. No side effects were experienced by the patients with either treatment and patient satisfaction was higher in the methylprednisolone group. Conclusion: The use of topical methylprednisolone cream in fresh wounds at the postoperative early period appears to be promising

Simple vaginal trachelectomy for early stage cervical cancer: A tertiary cancer center experience

Objectives: Less radical fertility sparing procedures have been introduced to reduce morbidity and adverse obstetric outcome in cervical cancer. Our objective was to describe oncological and obstetric outcomes of women with early-stage cervical cancer who underwent a simple vaginal trachelectomy (SVT). Material and methods: From 01/2013 to 05/2017, 14 women underwent SVT preceded by laparoscopic pelvic lymph node dissection. Results: Patients’ median age was 32 years and all of them were nulliparous. Histology included squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma in 12 (85.7%) and 2 (14.3%) patients, respectively. Three patients had stage 1A1 with lymphovascular space invasion, 4 1A2 and 7 1B1. After obtaining final histopathology, one patient underwent radical hysterectomy due to positive surgical margin and excluded from analysis. None of the patients had lymph node metastasis. None of the 13 patients developed a recurrence within a median follow-up of 27 (6–56) months. Seven patients have conceived: 4 were term deliveries, 2 were late preterm deliveries and 1 was spontaneous abortion. Conclusions: SVT in well selected early-stage cervical cancer patients seems to be a safe treatment option with excellent oncologic outcome, preserving reproductive function. Literature data will need to be confirmed in large prospective series

See and treat strategy by LEEP conization in patients with abnormal cervical cytology

Objectives: To determine the overtreatment and re-LEEP rates of see and treat strategy (S & T) in women who underwent S & T by LEEP and to identify the risk factors for overtreatment and surgical margin and/or endocervical curettage positivity. Material and methods: A total of 800 patients who underwent S & T in Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty between June 2010 and June 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Overtreatment rate was found to be 46.6%, decreasing with higher grade of cervical smear abnormalities. Age more than 45, low grade of cervical cytologic abnormality and absence of glandular involvement were associated with higher overtreatment rates. The more advanced the histopathology, the more increased risk of surgical margin on LEEP and ECC positivity (p < 0.0001, for both). Glandular involvement was associated with both surgical margin and ECC positivity. Conclusions: S & T can be used in patients with high grade cytologic anomaly with an acceptable overtreatment rate. In addition, bigger pieces of specimens may need to be removed during LEEP in patients who have suspicious images of higher grade of abnormalities on colposcopy to reduce surgical margin or ECC positivity. When high rate of ECC positivity in patients with HSIL cytology is considered, we suggest performing ECC to every patients with HSIL