Quantifying Nipple-Areolar Complex Shape and Location After Transmasculine Top Surgery: A Study of Postoperative Photographs Posted on Social Media and Surgeons' Professional Websites.

Purpose: The transgender community utilizes online platforms to view and share postoperative masculinizing top surgery photographs. However, the quantitative and qualitative nature of these photographs is unknown. We aimed to conduct an analysis of postoperative online photographs for nipple-areolar complex (NAC) shape and location, and compare social media platforms to World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) surgeons' websites and published cis-male chest proportions. Methods: In a cross-sectional analysis (April to May 2019), social media (Instagram and Reddit) and WPATH surgeon website postoperative top surgery photographs were analyzed. Areola height (AH):areola width (AW), NAC horizontal (inter-nipple distance [IND]:chest width [CW]) and vertical placement (sternal notch to nipple line [SN-NL]:sternal notch to umbilicus [SN-U]), and vertical scar placement (sternal notch to scar line [SN-SL]:SN-U) ratios were assessed on MATLAB. Data were compared to published cis-male proportions. Photograph skin color, soft tissue redundancy, and scar location were also analyzed. Results: We analyzed 304 social media and 192 surgeons' website photographs qualitatively, and 139 social media and 189 surgeons' photographs quantitatively. Means (standard deviation) for postoperative photographs were AH:AW 1.12±0.24, IND:CW 0.68±0.07, SN-NL:SN-U 0.37±0.06. Most ratios significantly differed from published cis-male ratios (p<0.001). Photographs from WPATH surgeons' websites differed from social media platforms in SN-NL:SN-U and SN-SL:SN-U (p<0.001), and in scar location and soft tissue redundancy (p=0.012). Conclusion: Postoperative top surgery photographs on online platforms showed more vertically oval, caudally positioned, and in many cases wider-spaced NACs than cis-male proportions. Our study highlights variability in results of masculinizing top surgery as it relates to an emerging source of information; online photographs.

Association of HCG Level with Ultrasound Visualization of the Gestational Sac in Early Viable Pregnancies.

Our primary objective is to verify or refute a 2013 study by Connolly et al. which showed that in early pregnancy, a gestational sac was visualized 99% of the time on transvaginal ultrasound when the HCG level reached 3510 mIU/mL. Our secondary objective was to make clinical correlations by assessing the relationship between human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) level in early pregnancy when a gestational sac is not seen and pregnancy outcomes of live birth, spontaneous abortion, and ectopic pregnancy. This retrospective study includes 144 pregnancies with an outcome of live birth, 87 pregnancies with an outcome of spontaneous abortion, and 59 ectopic pregnancies. Logistic regression is used to determine the probability of visualizing a gestational sac and/or yolk sac based on the HCG level. A gestational sac is predicted to be visualized 50% of the time at an HCG level of 979 mIU/mL, 90% at 2421 mIU/mL, and 99% of the time at 3994 mIU/mL. A yolk sac was predicted to be visualized 50% of the time at an HCG level of 4626 mIU/mL, 90% at 12,892 mIU/mL, and 99% at 39,454 mIU/mL. A total of 90% of ectopic pregnancies presented with an HCG level below 3994 mIU/mL. These results are in agreement with the study by Connolly et al. Since most early ectopic pregnancies had an HCG value below the discriminatory level for gestational sac visualization, other methods for the evaluation of pregnancy of unknown location such as repeat HCG values are clinically important.

Statewide geographic variation in hysterectomy approach for pelvic organ prolapse: a county-level analysis.

BACKGROUND: There are no definitive guidelines for surgical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse. Previous data suggests geographic variation in apical repair rates in health systems throughout the United States. Such variation can reflect lack of standardized treatment pathways. An additional area of variation for pelvic organ prolapse repair may be hysterectomy approach which could not only influence concurrent repair procedures, but also healthcare utilization. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine statewide geographic variation in surgical approach of hysterectomy for prolapse repair and concurrent use of colporrhaphy and colpopexy. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective analysis of Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medicare, and Medicaid fee-for-service insurance claims for hysterectomies performed for prolapse in Michigan between October 2015 and December 2021. Prolapse was identified with International Classification of Disease Tenth Revision codes. The primary outcome was variation in surgical approach for hysterectomy as determined by Current Procedural Terminology code (vaginal, laparoscopic, laparoscopic assisted vaginal, or abdominal) on a county level. Patient home address zip codes were used to determine county of residence. A hierarchical multivariable logistic regression model with vaginal approach as the dependent variable and county-level random effects was estimated. Patient attributes, including age, comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, morbid obesity), concurrent gynecologic diagnoses, health insurance type, and social vulnerability index were used as fixed-effects. To estimate variation between counties in vaginal hysterectomy rates, a median odds ratio was calculated. RESULTS: There were 6974 hysterectomies for prolapse representing 78 total counties that met eligibility criteria. Of these, 2865 (41.1%) underwent vaginal hysterectomy, 1119 (16.0%) underwent laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy, and 2990 (42.9%) underwent laparoscopic hysterectomy. The proportion of vaginal hysterectomy across 78 counties ranged from 5.8% to 86.8%. The median odds ratio was 1.86 (95% credible interval, 1.33-3.83), consistent with a high level of variation. Thirty-seven counties were considered statistical outliers because the observed proportion of vaginal hysterectomy was outside the predicted range (as defined by confidence intervals of the funnel plot). Vaginal hysterectomy was associated with higher rates of concurrent colporrhaphy than laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy or laparoscopic hysterectomy (88.5% vs 65.6% vs 41.1%, respectively; P<.001) and lower rates of concurrent colpopexy (45.7% vs 51.7% vs 80.1%, respectively; P<.001). CONCLUSION: This statewide analysis reveals a significant level of variation in the surgical approach for hysterectomies performed for prolapse. The variation in surgical approach for hysterectomy may help account for high rates of variation in concurrent procedures, especially apical suspension procedures. These data highlight how geographic location may influence the surgical procedures a patient undergoes for uterine prolapse.

Trends in copper versus hormonal intrauterine device breakage reporting within the United States' Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System.

OBJECTIVE: To examine trends in national reporting of broken intrauterine devices (IUDs). STUDY DESIGN: We enumerated IUD device "breakage" reports in the Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System from inception (1998) until February 2022. We explored associations of breakage with IUD type (copper versus hormonal), year reported, reporter (consumer versus clinician), and patient characteristics (age and weight). RESULTS: We identified 4144 breakage reports for copper versus 2140 for hormonal IUDs. Among the 170,215 adverse events reported, breaks were disproportionately reported for copper (9.6%) versus hormonal (1.7%) IUDs. CONCLUSION: National pharmacovigilance data suggests disproportionate breakage in copper versus hormonal IUDs though the true prevalence of breaks cannot be calculated from this dataset.

Patient Experience of Antimuscarinic Treatment for Overactive Bladder: A Qualitative Exploration of Online Forum Content.

IMPORTANCE: Antimuscarinic medications are often discontinued, and there is a paucity of data regarding patient experience of medications within this class. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to qualitatively explore patient experience of antimuscarinic medications used for overactive bladder using reviews on Drugs.com. STUDY DESIGN: We examined reviews prior to February 2, 2020 (available since 2008) for oral antimuscarinic medications. User content was reviewed qualitatively via inductive content analysis. Investigators coded third-party impressions, categorizing each review as positive, mostly positive, mostly negative, or negative. The prevalence of side effects, themes, and impressions are described, with comparisons by drug using χ2, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis tests, as appropriate. Correlation between ordinal and categorical variables was performed using Tau and Spearman correlation coefficients, respectively. RESULTS: We analyzed 469 user reviews. 68.2% reported symptom improvement. The most common side effects were dry mouth (29%) and fatigue (10.7%). Fewer neurologic side effects were reported in the solifenacin (13.9%) and trospium (none) groups (P = 0.009). Tolterodine and trospium immediate release had lower rates of ears, nose, and throat side effects (22.5% and 26.2%, respectively, P = 0.001.) Analysis of themes suggested 2 domains driving overall satisfaction: improvement and side effects. Improvement was associated with a positive satisfaction score (ρ = 0.64, P < 0.001) and gestalt impression (ρ = 0.74, P < 0.001). The factors that most negatively affected these measures were persistent symptoms followed by gastrointestinal side effects (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest important differences within this class of medication both in terms of side effects and patient satisfaction. Furthermore, symptom improvement is the leading factor for patient satisfaction, whereas gastrointestinal side effects are associated with dissatisfaction.

Withdrawal method inquiries and user experiences: An analysis of content posted on 4 gendered forums on Reddit.

OBJECTIVES: Limited research and guidance on the use of "withdrawal" or coitus interruptus for contraception lead to inconsistent or even inaccurate physician recommendations regarding its use. Consequently, patients rely on online communities to learn about this commonly used contraceptive method. To identify knowledge gaps and concerns between men and women, as well as explore how they use withdrawal, we examined withdrawal-related posts on the popular internet discussion forum, Reddit. STUDY DESIGN: To explore gendered variations in withdrawal-related Reddit posts, we extracted posts from the gendered forums: "TwoXChromosomes," "Askwomen," "Askmen," and "OneY" between 2010 and 2019 that contained the search terms: "coitus interruptus," "withdrawal," "pull out," "preejaculate," or "precum." We developed an initial codebook with expected codes and augmented it with emerging findings from a random sampling of 10% of posts. We revised iteratively for interrater agreement, after which researchers coded the remaining posts independently. RESULTS: Of 269 withdrawal-related queries, 19% were submitted by men; 81% referenced the contributor's own withdrawal use. Salient domains included: concerns about pregnancy risk (59%), how to effectively use withdrawal (13%), benefits/pleasure from using withdrawal (12%), impact on personal life/relationship (9%), and problems encountered, inclusive of consent (7%). Posts to female-focused forums more frequently inquired about pregnancy risk, while those on male forums more frequently inquired about withdrawal-related logistics (p < 0.001); domains were not associated with contributor gender. CONCLUSION: Withdrawal-related queries within this Reddit sample are frequently posted by women, the majority of whom want to understand their risk of pregnancy with withdrawal. Research operationalizing withdrawal and more accurately estimating withdrawal-related pregnancy risk is warranted. IMPLICATIONS: Reddit users discuss their personal experiences with withdrawal as contraception, as well as seek advice regarding its use from the online community. Pregnancy risk, logistics of use, and ongoing stigma are salient topics. Further research on pregnancy risk, operationalizing success, and approaches for discussing this behavioral method is warranted.

Influence of Trophectoderm Biopsy Prior to Frozen Blastocyst Transfer on Obstetrical Outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to determine if trophectoderm biopsy prior to autologous frozen blastocyst transfer in programmed cycles is associated with gestational age at delivery, birth weight, or cesarean rate in viable singleton gestations. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients at a university-affiliated center that had viable singleton gestations after autologous frozen blastocyst transfer in programmed cycles. Obstetrical outcomes of 67 pregnancies after blastocyst trophectoderm biopsy for preimplantation genetic testing were compared to 78 pregnancies from unbiopsied blastocysts. There were no significant differences between the two cohorts in terms of maternal age, BMI, or ethnicity. There were no differences in the preimplantation genetic testing cohort compared to the reference cohort for median gestational age at delivery (39.4 vs 39.4 weeks, p = 0.80), median birth weight (3420 vs 3430 g, p = 0.97), cesarean rate (51% vs 44%, p = 0.41), preterm delivery rate (12% vs 8%, p = 0.41), rate of low birth weight (12% vs 9%, p = 0.59), or rate of birth weight over 4000 g (13% vs 8%, p = 0.29). There were no differences in the primary outcomes with subgroup analysis based on fetal sex, single embryo transfer, gravidity, history of prior term birth, and maternal age < or ≥ 35 years. Trophectoderm biopsy prior to frozen blastocyst transfer in programmed cycles was not associated with adverse obstetrical outcomes related to gestational age at delivery, birth weight, or cesarean rate.

Getting to the Bottom of Patient Experiences with Genital Gender Affirmation Surgery: A Qualitative Analysis of Online Reviews.

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing gender-affirming surgery seek information from online sources including online reviews written by peers. We aimed to conduct a qualitative analysis of the information discussed in online reviews related to genital gender-affirming surgery and evaluate the topics driving positive/negative reviews. METHODS: Reviews for genital gender-affirming surgery (vaginoplasty, metoidioplasty, and phalloplasty) were identified on three popular review platforms: Google, Yelp, and RealSelf. Content was analyzed line by line using a conventional inductive content analysis to identify recurring themes. Individual statements were marked as either having a positive or negative sentiment. Median rating was calculated and compared across platforms (max score 5). Associations between theme/subthemes and sentiment were also analyzed using Chi-squared test. RESULTS: A total of 129 reviews were analyzed and 433 codes were identified, the majority of which were positive (n=372; 85.9%). Three overarching themes described factors important to patient experience: surgeon medical, surgeon non-medical, and non-surgeon; with surgeon medical being the most popular. Fifteen subthemes comprised these themes, the most popular being interactions with supporting staff, surgeon bedside manner, and overall postoperative result. There was no difference in median review ratings between platforms (5 across all platforms; p=0.452). There was no association between sentiment and themes or subthemes (p=0.187 and p=0.578, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to analyze online reviews of genital gender-affirming surgery. The majority of patients gave positive ratings and the qualitative content had mostly positive sentiment. Salient themes not only include surgeon medical care and outcome, but other nonsurgical elements that formulate the patient's experience as a whole. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Online community queries on hormonal male contraception: An analysis of the Reddit "Ask Me Anything" experience.

OBJECTIVE: Reddit is one of the most popular websites in the United States because of its user-driven aggregation and community-based curation of online content. We describe the use and impact of Reddit's Ask Me Anything platform, for public engagement and education about developments in hormonal male contraception (HMC). METHODS: We analyzed the content from and user engagement with 2 Reddit Ask Me Anything events that answered user queries about HMC in June 2018 and March 2019. Clinical trial investigators provided real-time responses throughout the events. We examined the 25 most popular posts from each event, analyzing content for salient themes via an inductive approach. To quantify event impact, we examined Google Trends data and subsequent traffic to the investigator website. RESULTS: Over 18,000 registered Reddit users interacted with each of the 2 Ask Me Anything events, with each generating over 1600 comments. The most popular posts of each Ask Me Anything event expressed interest in off-target effects associated with the use of HMCs. Additional themes included queries about previous and ongoing clinical trials, HMC physiology, and market analyses and projections of public willingness to use HMCs. The events coincided with a spike in both Google searches for "male birth control" and first-time visits to the study's website where users could express interest in participating in clinical trials. CONCLUSION: Reddit Ask Me Anything events conducted by HMC investigators revealed wide public interest in HMCs. The events prompted further searches for more information on male contraception, while driving traffic to the investigator website for trial recruitment purposes. IMPLICATIONS: Reddit Ask Me Anything events are a popular, cost-free online platform for publicly responding to a range of HMC-related queries, while providing investigators with insight into stakeholder priorities and preoccupations.

Transcutaneous Electrical Spinal Cord Neuromodulator (TESCoN) Improves Symptoms of Overactive Bladder.

Neuromodulation is a therapeutic technique that is well-established in the treatment of idiopathic Lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunction such as overactive bladder (OAB). We have recently developed a novel neuromodulation approach, Transcutaneous Electrical Spinal Cord Neuromodulation (TESCoN) and demonstrated its acute effects on LUT dysfunction after spinal cord injury (SCI) during urodynamic studies. We found that TESCoN can promote urinary storage and induce urinary voiding when delivered during urodynamic studies. The objective of this study was to determine whether TESCoN can retrain the spinal neural networks to induce chronic improvement in the LUT, such that positive changes can persist even in the absence of stimulation. In addition, we wished to examine the effect of TESCoN on LUT dysfunction due to multiple pathologies. To achieve this objective, 14 patients [SCI = 5, stroke = 5, multiple sclerosis (MS) = 3, and idiopathic OAB (iOAB) = 1] completed 24 sessions of TESCoN over the course of 8 weeks. Patients completed urodynamic studies before and after undergoing TESCoN therapy. Additionally, each subject completed a voiding diary and the Neurogenic Bladder Symptom Score questionnaire before and after receiving TESCoN therapy. We found that TESCoN led to decreased detrusor overactivity, improved continence, and enhanced LUT sensation across the different pathologies underlying LUT dysfunction. This study serves as a pilot in preparation for a rigorous randomized placebo-controlled trial designed to demonstrate the effect of TESCoN on LUT function in neurogenic and non-neurogenic conditions. NEW AND NOTEWORTHY: Non-Surgical modality to reduce incidence of urinary incontinence and improve neurogenic bladder symptom scores (NBSS) in individuals with neurogenic bladder due to spinal cord injury or stroke.

Non-invasive Neuromodulation of Spinal Cord Restores Lower Urinary Tract Function After Paralysis.

It is commonly assumed that restoration of locomotion is the ultimate goal after spinal cord injury (SCI). However, lower urinary tract (LUT) dysfunction is universal among SCI patients and significantly impacts their health and quality of life. Micturition is a neurologically complex behavior that depends on intact sensory and motor innervation. SCI disrupts both motor and sensory function and leads to marked abnormalities in urine storage and emptying. Current therapies for LUT dysfunction after SCI focus on preventing complications and managing symptoms rather than restoring function. In this study, we demonstrate that Transcutaneous Electrical Spinal Stimulation for LUT functional Augmentation (TESSLA), a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique, can reengage the spinal circuits' active in LUT function and normalize bladder and urethral sphincter function in individuals with SCI. Specifically, TESSLA reduced detrusor overactivity (DO), decreased detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia (DSD), increased bladder capacity and enabled voiding. TESSLA may represent a novel approach to transform the intrinsic spinal networks to a more functionally physiological state. Each of these features has significant clinical implications. Improvement and restoration of LUT function after SCI stand to significantly benefit patients by improving their quality of life and reducing the risk of incontinence, kidney injury and urinary tract infection, all the while lowering healthcare costs.