Peroperative electrocoagulation of endocervical mucosa and later carcinoma of the cervical stump.

The incidence of carcinoma of the cervical stump is, according to literature, 0.3--1.9%. During the years 1952--78, 2712 subtotal hysterectomies for benign conditions were performed in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Turku. During the operation the endocervical mucosa was electrocoagulated before closing the stump. Of these patients, 3 have since developed carcinoma of the cervical stump; thus the incidence in our material is 0.11%. It has been supposed that subtotal hysterectomy might have certain benefits in some cases. If so, and in view of the cancer risk being so low in our material, we feel that subtotal hysterectomy is still an applicable method.