Women who have had a hysterectomy with removal of the cervix for benign disease rarely have important abnormalities found on Papanicolaou (Pap) testing. Several studies have shown that the rate of high-grade vaginal lesions or vaginal cancer is less than 1 in 1,000 tests;[1,2] no study has shown that screening for vaginal cancer reduces mortality from this rare condition.

References

1. Fox J, Remington P, Layde P, et al.: The effect of hysterectomy on the risk of an abnormal screening Papanicolaou test result. Am J Obstet Gynecol 180 (5): 1104-9, 1999.  [PUBMED Abstract]
   
   
2. Pearce KF, Haefner HK, Sarwar SF, et al.: Cytopathological findings on vaginal Papanicolaou smears after hysterectomy for benign gynecologic disease. N Engl J Med 335 (21): 1559-62, 1996.  [PUBMED Abstract]