Cervical Care

What cervical care services are available?

The team at Women’s Health Care Center of Houston offers a variety of diagnostic testing and treatment procedures for conditions that affect your cervix.

Your cervix is the lower part of your uterus and has a small, expanding open that’s necessary for childbirth and for eliminating menstrual blood from the body. Common health conditions that affect the cervix include:

• Cysts
• Polyps
• Cancer
• Cervicitis (inflammation)

You may also need treatment if you have cervical incompetence, a condition that occurs during pregnancy when the cervix widens before the baby’s due date.

How are cervical conditions diagnosed?

If you have unexplained pelvic pain, irregular bleeding, or other symptoms that can indicate a cervical condition, the Women’s Health Care Center of Houston may perform an ultrasound to evaluate your reproductive structures.

The team may also suggest a Pap test, a simple swab test that’s typically a part of a routine pelvic exam. Using a cotton swab, your Women’s Health Care Center of Houston provider collects a sample of cells from the cervix and sends them to a medical lab for evaluation.

A Pap test can identify changes in the cervical cells that may indicate pre-cancerous conditions or the presence of cancer. Your Women’s Health Care Center of Houston provider may recommend further diagnostic testing, including a colposcopy.

A colposcopy involves a special scope that allows your doctor to carefully examine your cervix, vulva, and vagina for signs of disease. During this procedure, your provider may also do a biopsy, taking a tissue sample for further analysis to test for cancer and other conditions.

What treatments are available for cervical conditions?

If your Women’s Health Care Center of Houston provider finds cancerous or other abnormal cervical tissue, they customize your treatment plan and may recommend treatments like:

Cryocautery

Cryocautery is a procedure that uses a metal probe to freeze abnormal tissue in the cervix or to treat uncontrolled vaginal bleeding.

Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP)

LEEP focuses on treating abnormal cervical cells using a small, wire loop that delivers electric currents into the tissue. The heated wire acts as a surgical knife, efficiently removing abnormal cervical tissue.

If you have a family history of cervical cancer or unexplained symptoms that need a diagnosis, schedule a cervical care consultation at the office nearest you by phone or use the online booking feature today.