My girlfriend is a urologist and she has said it time and again that she would never want a hysterectomy and certainly not a more complex gynecological operation like a Wertheim-Meigs procedure. Performed by an OB/GYN, that is.
In a Wertheim-Meigs operation, the surgeon has to do a radical hysterectomy (total removal of the uterus and the ligaments that hold it in place), remove pelvic lymph nodes and also the upper part of the vagina, all in the context of cervical cancer.
It requires surgical skill, and that is exactly what most OB/GYN totally lack.
The vast number of surgeries performed on female patients that have been messed up by OB/GYNs is absolutely staggering. It is a well-known hospital secret among OR nurses and surgeons how OB/GYN often butcher their patients, and how general surgeons and urologist subsequently are summoned to save the day. The patients never are informed afterwards by the OB/GYN (I call it the “Hospital Hush”).
Ruptured bladders, severed ureters, punctured uteri — they are all part of the ever growing list of messed-up operations by your average OB/GYN.
So think twice if your OB/GYN proposes to perform a complex procedure such as a Wertheim-Meigs on your body. His surgical skills might determine how the cancer will fare in the end.
And it might fare really well.