Cervical Dysplasia

May 2006

I'm relatively new to the area, went to doc at Ob/Gyn Partners for Health, found out after a colposcopy & biopsy, I have mild cervical dysplasia on an area on my cervix. Doc tells me I can have the area frozen off, or I can wait -often goes away on it's own. Due to the fact I would like to soon TTC my second child, doc recommended just rechecking pap in 6 months because the risk of ''freezing'' the abnormal cells off may make getting pregnant or carrying a baby to full term difficult. Has anyone experience a situation similar to this and if so, what did you do?

My second issue is I didn't mesh with this doctor. I didn't feel very comfortable with her, she really didn't take the time to ''talk'' to me and was rushed. I'm considering getting a second opinion and looking for another Ob/Gyn. My choices for my area are Carol Gerdes in Alameda or Helen Matthews in Berkeley (I prefer a female doctor and have Tricare Insurance). Does anyone have any feed back on either of these docs and their personalities? THANKS! Anon

Ten years ago, I found out I had moderate cervical and vaginal dysplasia. Because of the severity and location of my dysplasia, freezing (the less invasive choice) was not an option, so I had to undergo laser surgery to remove the cells. Now at the age of 33, my husband and I decided to have a baby, and we conceived within 2 months of TTC. In my first trimester, my ob/gyn kept close track of my progress to make sure that my previous surgery had not restricted my ability to carry a child. I'm happy to say that I am 33 weeks pregnant now and have had no problems related to my dysplasia. Based on my experience, I suspect that your ability to conceive or carry a baby is based on your doctor's ability to minimize the impact to your cervix during the procedure. If you decide to have the procedure, you might ask for referrals from other patients of whichever doctor you choose to assess the quality of your doctor's skills. Best of luck. Anonymous

I have had cervical dysplasia for the last 5 years and was treated at Kaiser for a while in SF and had a cone biopsy there in 2002. I was not happy with the way I was treated there, always seeing a different doctor or just NPs and decided to switch insurance and find a doctor that I could see every time I had an appointment and really help me with the cervical dysplasia. I was recommended to Dr. Arzou Ahsan in Berkeley on Telegraph. I became her patient and I have to say she is wonderful, kind, patient, listens, and really wants to help solve the problen. She is very diligent and she discovered that I actually had a vaginal lesion during a very thorough colop, probably why after my cone biopsy I kept having abnormal pap smears. Go see her! She is great and I believe trained at UCSF and worked in their dysplasia clinic, which is another good place to go. I went there for my surgery to remove the vaginal lesion on Dr. Ahsan's recommendation. The good news is that I conceived and had my first baby last fall right after having the surgery to remove the vaginal lesion. I have now had 3 normal pap smears and get to go back to annual exams. I have been so happy with Dr. Ahsan! Good luck! mom who had cervical dysplasia