Women's recollection of pain during and after carbon dioxide laser treatment to the uterine cervix

By use of postal questionnaires women who had undergone laser treatment to the uterine cervix without analgesia or anaesthesia were asked to comment retrospectively on their recollections of the pain that this caused. One hundred (42%) of 239 who replied had found the pain ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’, 102 (43%) thought it ‘very slight’ or ‘mild’, and 37 (15%) said they felt no pain at all. No greater sensation of pain was reported with higher intensity treatment. A total of 58 (24%) suggested that they would wish for some form of anaesthesia if they needed to have the same treatment again.