The Effect of Abdominal Radical Trachelectomy on Ovarian Reserve: Serial Changes in Serum Anti-Mullerian Hormone Levels

Aim: To evaluate the effect of abdominal radical trachelectomy on ovarian reserve and compare it with abdominal radical hysterectomy and a control group that did not have surgery. Method: We enrolled eighteen women who had abdominal radical trachelectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy and sixteen patients who had abdominal radical hysterectomy for this study. Ten thousand one hundred eighty-six women were also included as a control group for comparison. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of patient characteristics and comparison of serum anti-Mullerian hormone levels between the three groups. Results: Serum anti-Mullerian hormone levels in patients with abdominal radical trachelectomy were significantly higher than those of patients with abdominal radical hysterectomy (P<0.05). Serum anti-Mullerian hormone levels in the abdominal radical hysterectomy group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P=0.02), with no significant difference between the abdominal radical trachelectomy and control groups. These data indicated that abdominal radical trachelectomy did not affect ovarian function with respect to ovarian reserve and the response to ovarian stimulation. Conclusions: Serum anti-Mullerian hormone levels could be useful as a marker of ovarian reserve after abdominal radical trachelectomy. It is important to avoid postoperative complications causing a reduction in ovarian function to accomplish fertility-sparing surgery.