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[Lesley Joy]

Hi again,
I have cervical stenois (pin hole cervix) after a LETZ procedure (june 2014) for CIN/HPV which turned out to be chronic cervicitis (benign inflammation), so really I didn't need the procedure done! This makes collection of endo cervical cells nigh on impossible as there's no room for brush to get into the canal.
Last year for the first time, I had the new HPV test which is meant to be more accurate than pap smears but I'm still anxious.

I spoke to my gynae's nurse and she said he may do an exploratory, to find the cause of the odd 2x brown discharge I've had, once I've seen him. This would be a dilation of the cervix for samples and a look see at the uterine wall. Of course afterwards the cervical stenosis could be worse!

I was reading that stenosis and the inability to get sufficient/accurate smears can be a reason for a hysterectomy, so will discuss this with him too. It would save me a lot of future stress plus I don't need those parts now. I'm trying to be proactive and have a plan of action. Are there any other post-menopausal ladies out there with cervical stenosis? If so how do you cope with this issue when it comes to smears?

Thanks for reading,
Lesley x

[Lesley Joy]

Hi,
I went for my appointment today and had a good talk to my gynae about my fears and concerns. He said that a negative HPV test is very accurate, more accurate than even thin prep smears. The HrHPV (high risk human papilloma virus), sheds it's RNA downward from the cervix, into the vagina where it is detected. So the cervical stenosis isn't such an issue as it was.

From next year only the HPV test will be offered to women in New Zealand. If the test returns positive the the woman will go on to have a thin prep smear, otherwise the HPV will only needs to be repeated every 3 years. Australia and America are also using the HPV testing.
My HPV test was negative last year, but he repeated the test again and also took swabs and did a vaginal ultrasound which was all good. He thinks the couple of isolated bits of bleeding I had last year were due to atrophy and loss of estrogen. So I'm feeling a lot more reassured.
In 1992 I lost a girlfriend (33) to cervical cancer. She had, had a cone biopsy, and all her smears were coming back normal but she was having continual bleeding which was dismissed as hormones! Her death had a big impact on me and I've struggled to cope with anything cervical since then.

Thanks for reading,
Lesley x