Delayed vesicovaginal fistula after ring pessary usage.

Vaginal pessaries are commonly used in the conservative management of pelvic organ prolapse, and are generally viewed as safe alternatives to surgery. Serious complications are rare, but can and do arise, typically as a result of the pessary not being fitted and maintained correctly. This case describes delayed development of a vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) 8 months after vaginal ulceration was noted and the ring pessary removed. The 82-year-old patient was managed with a urinary diversion via ileal conduit. This case highlights the importance of meticulous follow-up when a pessary is removed in the setting of ulceration. It is the third documented case of a genitourinary fistula resulting from a vaginal ring pessary, and is the first reported case of this surgical technique being successfully used in this setting.

Pelvic organ prolapse surgery in Western Australia: a population-based analysis of trends and peri-operative complications.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: We previously described a declining rate of surgery in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) in Western Australia. This paper builds on previous work by examining temporal trends and the post-operative risk of in-hospital complications, following first time incident prolapse surgery in a population-based cohort of women. METHODS: We investigated rates of prolapse surgery between 1988 and 2005 according to age group and concomitant procedure type for 34,509 women whose data were extracted from the WA Data Linkage System. We investigated changes over time in the demographic characteristics of women undergoing surgery and whether the presence of selected concomitant procedures increased the risk of in-hospital complications. RESULTS: During the study period, 34,509 women underwent an incident surgery for POP. Concomitant hysterectomy was performed in more than half of all surgeries (52.4 %) and a concomitant urinary incontinence (UI) surgery was noted in 25.8 %. 10.9 % of patients experienced a complication of interest, with the highest percentage of complications recorded in women who underwent multi-concomitant surgery. After controlling for age, comorbidity and time period we found that concomitant UI surgery increases in-hospital complications (OR 1.61 95 % CI 1.42-1.83) only in women who have a repair procedure (colporrhaphy and/or enterocele repair). There was no significant effect of concomitant procedures in women who underwent a combined repair and apical prolapse procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery to treat prolapse is common, has low mortality and concomitant surgery only increases complications when combined with simpler prolapse surgery.

Complications associated with tissue anchor migration after vaginal surgery using the tissue fixation system - a case series.

This case series describes eleven women with serious complications related to migration of tissue anchors after vaginal surgery for uterovaginal prolapse and/or urinary incontinence using the tissue fixation system.

A case of hypertension with virilisation during pregnancy.

This case report describes the onset of hypertension and virilisation during pregnancy due to a Brenner tumour.

Lifetime risk of undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the lifetime risk of first-time incident pelvic organ prolapse (POP) surgery with the intention of updating previous risk estimates that have been based on members of managed-care populations. METHODS: Age-specific incidence rates of first-time prolapse surgery between 1981 and 2005 were calculated based on 44,728-incident cases. We estimated the lifetime risk as the cumulative incidence to age 85 years based on a life-table method and using the most recent cross-sectional incidence rates for the period 2001-2005. Age-standardized rates by calendar year were also calculated to show the secular trend in prolapse surgery. RESULTS: The lifetime risk of surgery for POP in the general female population was 19% based on the most recent cross-sectional rates, a figure higher than the 11-12% reported from U.S. managed-care populations. CONCLUSION: There is a relatively high likelihood that a woman in Western Australia will undergo surgery for POP during her lifetime. If, as our results suggest, the burden of genital prolapse in general populations is higher than previously thought, there is justification for a stronger evidence base for prevention, early detection and intervention to reduce the personal and societal costs of these gynecological conditions. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

A randomized controlled equivalence trial of short-term complications and efficacy of tension-free vaginal tape and suprapubic urethral support sling for treating stress incontinence.

OBJECTIVE: To establish the equivalence between the tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) and the suprapubic urethral support sling (SPARC). Approximately 35% of women have stress urinary incontinence (SUI), and although TVT is now perceived as the standard treatment, the SPARC is a very similar procedure and is thought to have fewer peri-operative complications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with clinical SUI were recruited from public and private urology/urogynaecology clinics, and participated in the trial of TVT vs SPARC. The primary outcome was bladder perforation; secondary outcomes were blood loss, voiding difficulty, urgency, and cure of SUI symptoms. Sample size calculations, based on an estimated 2% perforation rate, showed that 290 patients would be needed to detect a clinically significant difference of 5%. Stratification was by previous incontinence surgery and the experience of the surgeon. RESULTS: There were 301 operations; the difference in bladder perforations was not statistically significant, at one/147 TVT (0.7%), and three/154 SPARC (1.9%), with the difference in rate of 0.013 (95% confidence interval (CI) - 0.01 to 0.04; odds ratio 2.89, 95% CI 0.30-28.21; P = 0.62), and nor were differences in estimated blood loss of >100 mL (TVT, 32/147, 21.8%; SPARC 28/154, 18.2%); de novo urgency (TVT 15/37, 40.5%; SPARC 14/33, 42.4%), objective cure (TVT 143/147, 97.3%; SPARC 148/152, 97.4%) or vaginal mesh erosion (TVT 7/147, 4.8%; SPARC 16/152, 10.5%). Acute urinary retention (TVT none of 147; SPARC 10/154, 6.5%; odds ratio infinity, 95% CI 2.2-infinity; P = 0.002) and subjective cure (TVT 128/147, 87.1%; SPARC 117/153, 76.5%; odds ratio 2.07, 95% CI 1.13-3.81; P = 0.03) were statistically significantly different. CONCLUSION: These results are consistent with clinical equivalence between TVT and SPARC for bladder perforation. There was no statistically significant difference between TVT and SPARC in blood loss, urgency or objective cure of SUI symptoms at 6 weeks. However, SPARC was more difficult to adjust correctly, and a statistically significant number of patients required loosening of the tape in theatre (P = 0.002). TVT had a lower rate of vaginal erosion and a statistically significantly higher cure rate of subjective SUI symptoms than SPARC. Overall, voiding difficulty (loosening of the tape), urgency and vaginal mesh erosion were the most important clinical problems. This trial showed the importance of testing new devices which appear to be similar, but which might have relevant differences. There was no financial assistance for this study, and a long-term follow up is planned.