Cervical cancer is the second-most common cancer among women worldwide. For women who are of childbearing age and develop cervical cancer, traditional surgical options involved a total hysterectomy. However, a trachelectomy, or cervixectomy, is considered to be the optimal treatment for women of this age group with a desire to preserve fertility. It is performed on women with early cancer of the cervix (on a tumor no larger than 2-3 centimeters). In this surgery, the cervix and the upper part of the vagina are removed but the rest of the uterus is left in place. A lymphadenectomy, or removal of the lymph nodes, in the pelvic area is also performed (usually by keyhole laparoscopic surgery) to see if the cancer has spread.