Open AccessThe Cone Biopsy—Hysterectomy Time Interval Related to Wound Infection
Author(s) -
Wisborg Tove
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.3109/00016347209154961
Subject(s) - medicine , hysterectomy , biopsy , cervix , surgery , cervical conization , cervical cancer , gynecology , cancer , cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
A group of 99 patients, who underwent total hysterectomy because of carcinoma in situ of the cervix uteri between 3 and 57 days after cervical cone biopsy, were compared with a control group of 130 patients who were subjected to hysterectomy because of uterine fibroids with no preceding biopsy. A significantly increased frequency of wound infections was found in the cone‐biopsy‐hysterectomy group, 23.2% as compared with 6.2% in the control group. Furthermore a significant increase in febrile morbidity was found in the cone‐biopsy‐hysterectomy group, 31.3% as compared with 10.8% in the control group. In the cone‐biopsy‐hysterectomy group wound infections only occurred when the time interval between the two operations was between 3 and 14 days. With an interval of 15 days or more no wound infections were found. No relationship could be established between the febrile morbidity rate and the cone‐biopsy‐hysterectomy interval. Other complications were similar in both groups. The most frequent complications were urinary tract infections and pneumonia. No deaths occurred. It is recommended that hysterectomy should not be performed until at least two weeks after a cone biopsy of the cervix, in order to avoid the risk of wound infection which was 4 times commoner than in our control series.