Colposcopy and Vault Smears.

Colposcopy is an essential part of the National Cervical Screening Programme. Few studies have explored the potential long term implications of this procedure.

The vaginal vault smear is a test for cellular atypia in women who have undergone a hysterectomy. In asymptomatic women the test has poor sensitivity and specificity.  Current guidelines recommend that vault smears should not be used after hysterectomy for benign pathology but two vault smears should be taken, at 6 and 18 months post-surgery, when there is evidence of completely excised CIN (cervical intra epithelial neoplasia) II/III in the specimen.