International Urogynecology Journal

Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a heterogeneous group of connective tissue disorders involving various organ systems. We report the case of a female patient with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome type III (EDS III) presenting with a recurrent rectocele in whom porcine small intestinal submucosa mesh was used successfully to correct the defect in the rectovaginal fascia.

This study aimed to examine the frequency and nature of complications of vaginal prolapse surgery performed by members of SGS over a year and to determine the feasibility and the problems associated with prospective, multicentered collaborative data acquisition. A survey form, which included demographics, surgical indications, colpopexy type, concomitant procedures, technique, estimated blood loss (EBL), OR time, and intra/postoperative complications, was distributed to society members. The nature, extent, and solution of the complications were examined. There were 147 members of SGS at the time of the study. Many were reproductive endocrinologists and gynecologic oncologists. Twenty-one (14%) members participated. Three hundred forty-nine (349) completed forms were received: 187 sacrospinous fixations (SSF), 92 colposacropexies (CSP), and 70 high utero sacral suspensions (HUS). There were seven (3.7%) intraoperative complications for SSF, seven (7.6%) for CSP and three (4.3%) for HUS. There were four (2.1%) postoperative complications for SSF, six (6.5%) for CSP and none for HUS (NS). OR time was significantly longer for CSP vs. HUS ( P <.003) and for SSF vs. HUS ( p =.042). The EBL was significantly higher for SSF compared with CSP for the colpopexy procedure ( p =.013) and for entire cases ( p <.003). Analysis showed that all three colpopexies had significant intraoperative and postoperative complications of less than 8%. Intraoperative visceral damage was a concern for all three procedures. With SSF and CSP there was risk of bleeding and with HUS there was a risk of ureteral obstruction. Postoperative CSP complications were bowel obstruction, bleeding or hernia; for SSF neuropathy, and for HUS none. No life-threatening intraoperative or postoperative complications were reported. OR time was significantly shorter for HUS than SSF. The highest EBL was with SSF. Only 14% of the SGS membership responded, despite multiple requests for participation, demonstrating the difficulty of multicenter data gathering.

Hysterectomy is often part of pelvic organ prolapse repair. However, this may offer no benefit when compared to uterine preservation. We aimed to prospectively evaluate a minimally invasive bilateral sacrospinous hysteropexy using polypropylene mesh. We hypothesized that anatomic success and patient satisfaction can be achieved with this technique. Women with uterovaginal prolapse desiring surgery who had completed childbearing were enrolled. Preoperative assessment included standardized prolapse examination and validated symptom and pain scale questionnaires. Women with prior pelvic organ prolapse repair or any contraindication to uterine preservation were excluded. Data including demographic, operative and postoperative information was collected on patients for 1 year following surgery. Continuous variables are summarized as means (standard deviation) and categorical variables are summarized as frequencies and percentages. A mixed-effects model was used to evaluate the changes in questionnaire scores and outcomes at 6 months and 12 months after surgery with random effects accounting for the center effect with adjustment for age. The study group comprised 99 women from three female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (urogynecology) centers. The average age of the participants was 67.0 years (11.32 years), BMI 26.04 kg/m2 (3.56 kg/m2), and the majority were multiparous (98.9 %) and menopausal (90.9 %). Overall success at 12 months, as measured by composite outcome was 97.7 % (with the Ba point as the anatomic landmark) and 96.6 % (with the C point as the anatomic landmark). The overall exposure rate was 6.52 % and reoperation rate was 7.53 %. All subjective questionnaire scores and anatomic outcomes had improved at 12 months. Sacrospinous hysteropexy using a minimally invasive polypropylene mesh kit is an effective and safe technique for addressing uterovaginal prolapse as an alternative to hysterectomy at the time of pelvic reconstructive surgery.

A randomized trial of two postoperative suprapubic catheter clamping protocols was undertaken to compare their effect on the duration of both postoperative indwelling catheter time and hospital stay. In addition, patients were given either bethanechol chloride or placebo in a double-blind fashion to test the proposal that the use of bethanechol chloride would enhance return of bladder function and shorten postoperative catheter time. Forty-nine patients who underwent an anterior repair, Burch colposuspension or Marshall-Marchetti-Krantz (MMK) procedure were preoperatively randomized to one of two catheter clamping protocols. Protocol I involved a continuous clamping regimen with residuals measured with each void. Protocol II involved an intermittent clamping (‘bladder training’) regimen with residuals measured at specified intervals while the catheter was in place. Each patient received either bethanechol chloride or placebo in identical capsules. Protocol I significantly shortened the duration of postoperative catheterization (P<0.01). The use of bethanechol chloride prolonged the duration of catheterization in Protocol I patients and made no difference in Protocol II patients. We would recommend our simplified catheter protocol and the avoidance of bethanechol chloride in the management of indwelling catheters after surgery for urinary incontinence.

The area around the sacral promontory (SP) is the targeted location of various pelvic operations. We examined the internal iliac vein (IIV) configurations around the SP by computed tomography angiography (CTA) three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction to describe its anatomy and provide accurate anatomical parameters for relevant operations to reduce intraoperative vascular injury. We retrospectively studied 2078 CTA 3D model datasets from Nanfang Hospital patients examined for gynecological diseases from December 2009 to October 2020. The IIVs of the above cases were divided into standard and variant IIVs, and variant IIVs were subdivided into different subtypes. To compare the size of the avascular area around the SP between standard and variant IIVs, we selected the two subtypes with the highest variation rate for comparison with the standard IIV type. The most common types of variant IIVs were 5a (5.15%) and 3a (5.05%). The results showed larger values in the standard group than in the 3a and 5a groups for the confluence of common iliac vein (CCIV) height (37.73±12.05 vs. 28.93±10.17 vs. 27.27±7.58 mm, P < 0.05), distance between the iliac vessels (49.47±9.47 mm vs. 37.08±9.36 vs. 37.73±8.94 mm, P < 0.05), and SP exposure width (44.94±6.39 mm vs. 36.83±8.29 vs. 36.93±7.91, P < 0.05). Variant IIVs may increase the risk of surgery by reducing the avascular area compared with standard IIVs. Therefore, when operating around the SP, special attention should be given to variant IIVs and avoiding vascular injury.

To determine whether fecal incontinence (FI) is associated with sexual activity and to compare sexual function in women with and without FI. We conducted a retrospective chart review of all new patients seen in an academic urogynecology clinic. Women who reported fecal incontinence, as defined by loss of fecal material on the Wexner scale, were compared with those without fecal incontinence. We compared sexual activity and Pelvic Organ Prolapse Incontinence Sexual Questionnaire-12 (PISQ-12) scores between groups. In our population of women with pelvic floor disorder, 588 women reported FI compared with 527 who did not. On multivariate analysis, FI was not associated with sexual activity status, but was associated with worsened PISQ-12 scores (p < 0.001). PISQ-12 item analysis found that women with FI reported more dyspareunia, fear, and avoidance of sexual activity with greater partner problems (all p <0.05) than women without FI. Women with FI were as likely to engage in sexual relations as women without FI; however, sexually active women with FI had poorer sexual function than those without FI.