I had my LLETZ treatment under GA yesterday and thought I would share my experience in case it’s useful to anyone!
So a quick run down: I had my first smear in April (I’m 27) which came back as low grade. I got sent for a colposcopy and had a biopsy taken, all of which I found extremely distressing - I have previous medical trauma and medical anxiety.
My results came back as CIN2 but was taken to an MDT meeting given that my smear was low grade and I’m so young and haven’t had kids.
They decided my smear had been misgraded and should have been high grade, so they decided to do LLETZ.
I spoke to them and said that I wanted this done under general anaesthetic not local, which they said was fine.
I was absolutely bricking myself about the procedure, not helped by various cock ups with forgetting to book me in for a pre op, changing my appointment, and not getting back to me with what I was actually having done.
What I would say is, don’t think you’re being a nuisance! They are there to answer you questions or concerns.
I had my pre op where they take BP, height, weight etc and MRSA swabs of your nose and mouth and you take them of your groin (they’re absolutely fine, not painful at all - nowhere near as bad as Covid test!!), give you a leaflet about anaesthetic and SHOULD give you the chance to ask any questions (they didn’t with me)
I went into hospital for 7am, I wasn’t allowed any food after midnight on the day of my op. They got me settled into hospital, changed into my gown (make sure you take dressing down and slippers) and measured me for some compression socks.
The anaesthetist and the consultant both came round to see me and explained the procedure and asked if I had any questions.
Then it was just a waiting game as I was second on the list. So I went down to pre theatre at about 11:30, I did have to wait a while because the person before me wasn’t finished yet but the nurse just chatted to me and kept me calm (they were so good with my anxiety)
Then they put all the heart rate monitors on me, put a cannula in, and then because I’d been waiting a while and was anxious they gave me some anti-anxiety pre meds and then I don’t even remember them giving me the anaesthetic 
I woke up in recovery at about 12:45. Don’t be alarmed if your throat is slightly sore after, they put a breathing tube in when your under. I wasn’t in any pain at all at that point, they had also put local anaesthetic into my cervix when I was asleep so that I was double numb! Then I got wheeled back to the ward where they kept an eye on my BP, heart rate and my pain.
They make sure you eat, wee and drink and then you’re allowed to go home.
I was in until 8:30pm because my blood pressure was low and kept dropping but usually you’d be able to go home much sooner than that.
I would recommend asking for codeine to take home, it’s the only thing that seems to combat my pain (which isn’t horrific at all, more like a dull ache but it’s much nicer not to be in pain)
They’ve written me a sick note for a week but said if I feel I need longer, to ring them and they’ll extend it.
The consultant has said no sex or swimming for 4-6 weeks but that I can start some gentle exercise (yoga etc) after 2.
Overall, the nurses and all the staff were fab, made me feel totally at ease and really looked after me. I do think it helped that I had surgery for something else last year so I kind of knew the score but they were so lovely when I got a bit teary.
Some tips from me plus some things I didn’t know:
- download some nice things to watch on an iPad/phone etc and take headphones. This kept me really calm whilst I was waiting
- If you can, take shoes and clothes that are easy to slip on and off and shoes that can be adjusted to fit sexy compression socks
I wore trainers which were great - ask as many questions as you need to and at any time, it’s important you have all the information you need
- take snacks and a drink for after. They’ll give you tea/coffee, water and usually a sandwich but I was starving by the time I got out at 8:30pm!
- some things I didn’t know: they always take the transformation zone of your cervix, not just the abnormal cells. This is to make sure they get clear margins. Your transformation zone regenerates! Which is why you can have to have more than one LLETZ as the HPV can then infect the new cells. The LLETZ can weaken or scar your cervix though, which is why there are potential risks for fertility.
I’m a very logical and pragmatic person so I did a hell of a lot of research about all stages of my journey so that I felt well informed.
I am so glad I had mine done under general, especially after speaking to quite a few people who had it under local.
I will post again once I’m recovered with what my recovery is like.
But if anyone has any questions or just wants to talk to someone who understands, let me know.
