Wertheim-Meigs Abdominal Radical Hysterectomy and Lymphadenectomy

In spite of the large implementation of massive screening programs in western countries, cervical cancer still represents a major health issue, being the second most common cause of death for cancer among females between 20 and 39 years in the US Early stage cervical cancer patients may undergo either surgery or radiation therapy, but radical hysterectomy upholds oncologic results in comparison with radiotherapy, minimizing treatment-related side effects. Radical hysterectomy represents the mainstay of treatment for cervical cancer, with an estimated curative rate accounting for 90 % at 5 years. Although accumulating evidence supports the embrace of less radical approaches and the utilization of minimally invasive technique to perform radical hysterectomy, open abdominal route remains the most common approach to perform radical hysterectomy. In this chapter we describe a standard technique for the execution of abdominal radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy.