Women's Health Articles - Urinary Problems
By Date of Release Topic May 7, 2000 Having Prolapse, Cystocele and Rectocele Fixed Without Hysterectomy February 27, 2000 Urethral Dilatations for Recurrent UTIs - Are They Helpful? August 1, 1999 Drugs That Cause Urinary Incontinence May 16, 1999 Basic Tests for Women Who Leak Urine February 21, 1999 Cystocoele, Rectocoele and Pelvic Support Surgery June 14, 1998 Interstitial Cystitis - Pelvic Pain from the Bladder May 31, 1998 Urinary Tract Injuries During LAVH May 17, 1998 How Common is Urinary Incontinence? November 2, 1997 Does High Impact Activity Cause Incontinence?
Having Prolapse Problems Fixed Without Hysterectomy
Frederick R. Jelovsek MD
I started periods at 12 and still having regular periods. I'm not taking any prescription drugs on regular basis. I have fibrocystic breast disease and my doctor does not want to prescribe estrogen. I do eat soy products. I feel the general public should be more aware of this condition and its causes, such as heavy lifting when you're older (my problem!!), certain delivery techniques, family history,etc ". Z6
Why do doctors often recommend hysterectomy as part of the repair for prolapse?
I think it is true that most doctors will include hysterectomy (if all childbearing desire is done) in their recommendations for pelvic prolapse surgery. Scientific studies have not adequately addressed whether removing the uterus makes prolapse surgery any more or less successful than when the uterus is left except in the case of genuine stress incontinence. When genuine stress incontinence is present, loss of urine with coughing or sneezing, the support defect is called urethrocoele or loss of the urethrovesical angle. Studies have shown that correction of stress incontinence alone is neither more nor less successful if hysterectomy is performed (1).
Unfortunately all of the other support defects such as bladder dropping (cystocoele), rectal wall protrusion into and out of the vagina (rectocoele), cul-de-sac hernia (enterocoele), and uterine prolapse have not had any large surgical series reported in which the uterus was left in place. Some of the smaller studies (2) reported for fixing uterine prolapse without hysterectomy seem to imply there is not a difference in the recurrence rate. So why do doctors almost always suggest hysterectomy? Here are some of my opinions:
- Many women request hysterectomy at the time of major prolapse surgery. Premenopausal women request it because they feel that the absence of menses will be more convenient or, if they are having pain, abnormal bleeding or Pap smear problems, that those conditions will go away. Postmenopausal women request hysterectomy because removing the uterus with its cervix and the ovaries will lessen the chance of cancer.
- Doctors find that patients have more difficulty with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) because they must take progestins along with estrogen so they do not develop endometrial cancer. The progestins tend to produce more mood side effects and bleeding side effects of HRT entirely go away if a woman has a hysterectomy.
- In their training, many physicians did not learn or commonly practice surgical techniques in which the uterus was left in. Thus they are "more comfortable" in their surgical experience with removing the uterus at the time of prolapse surgery
- There is a common unsubstantiated conception among many patients and some physicians that the weight of the uterus will put more downward pressure on the pelvic support structures and worsen prolapse in the long run, thus making their surgery less likely to be successful.
Keep in mind there are many physicians who are comfortable correcting prolapse defects surgically without removing the uterus. One organization of surgical specialists in prolapse surgery is the Society of Gynecologic Surgeons. They have a geographic list of physicians.
How effective is surgery at fixing these prolapse problems?
Almost all prolapse surgery has some failures. Successes of most of the procedures range from 65%-90% although the longer the patients are followed, the lower the permanent success rate. The biggest reason for recurrence of prolapse problems is that all of the anatomical defects present were not recognized or not evident at the time of the original surgery. Every gynecologic surgeon has had experiences in which patients return 1-5 years or more later with symptomatic prolapse of one of the sites not originally thought to be a problem. Sometimes when one anatomic area is fixed, all of the excess intraabdominal pressure from lifting, straining or chronic coughing is redirected to a weaker area. This weaker area over time develops a hernia.
Women who undergo surgery for prolapse should take at least 3 months off from any lifting over 10 pounds and any intraabdominal straining as much as possible. In my opinion they should never engage a strenuous occupation or regular leisure activities that demand increased intraabdominal pressure. Many of the surgical failures that I am aware of had episodes of moving furniture, a sudden fall with moderate impact or some other episode of abdominal straining during which they felt a "pop" and then subsequent pelvic pressure.
What are some of the complications of prolapse surgery?
The major complication is failure of the procedure to keep the pelvic organs supported. Other complications are those of any major surgery such as wound infection, blood clot to the lung, anesthetic complications, lung or bladder infections, or injuries to adjacent organs such as the rectum, bowel, bladder urethra (tube from the bladder to the outside) or ureter (tube from the kidney to the bladder).
Another complication more unique to prolapse and hernia surgery is infection in the area of non human materials used during the surgery. Synthetic mesh, bone tacks, and even non dissolving sutures that are used during the surgery can become infected (about 3-5%) and produce chronically draining pus sinuses. Surgeons like to use the natural tissues and ligaments to repair these hernias if possible but sometimes the tissues are just too weak and a synthetic material is needed.
Are there new techniques and materials being tested to improve the surgical success of this problem?
There are always new publications about different procedures, methods and materials to help improve the success of prolapse surgery. For stress incontinence, "bone tacks" are being tried. Synthetic mesh made of Prolene®, Mersilene® and Gore-Tex® have been used for support of the vagina or cervico- vaginal area to repair uterine or vaginal prolapse (2)
What are the key considerations when faced with a decision for possible surgery for prolapse.
(Note -- The following suggestions about surgical procedures may seem highly technical, but the only way to avoid a high likelihood of recurrent prolapse is to have the most appropriate surgical repairs done in the first place.)
A primary consideration with pelvic organ prolapse is whether or not you have associated urinary incontinence with straining or coughing. If you do not have incontinence at present, do you get incontinence if you wear one or two large tampons in the vagina to elevate the bladder and uterus? Also, during your pelvic exam by the doctor, you should expect a "Q-tip" test. This is an exam in which the doctor puts a small cotton-tipped applicator lubricated with xylocaine gel into the urethra. Then you are asked to strain down. If the applicator rises 30 degrees or more, this means that the urethra-bladder neck drops down with straining and it is very likely that if you do not already have stress urinary incontinence, you will develop it after the surgery if the doctor does not plan to include some type of bladder neck suspension as part of your surgical procedure.
Another consideration is for the doctor to carefully examine any bladder dropping (cystocoele) and determine whether or not the anatomical defect is in the middle of the vaginal wall under the bladder or whether it is at the sides of the vagina (paravaginal). Doctors previously only performed a procedure called anterior colporraphy as if all cystocoeles were midline defects. Now we know that most defects are paravaginal. Therefore the surgeon's plan for correction of a cystocoele should almost always include a paravaginal repair done from a vaginal, abdominal or laparoscopic approach. If not, at least the doctor should be able to explain why a specific procedure is being planned for.
Finally, if any uterine or vaginal prolapse is present, ask the doctor what tissues the vagina will be reattached to to prevent it from falling down again. Usually the answer will include either the uterosacral ligaments, the sacrum or the sacrospinous ligament. If the doctor suggests you should not worry about the precise method of suspension or just suggests a vaginal hysterectomy with an anterior cystocoele and posterior rectocoele repair, it might be prudent to get a second opinion. That does not mean these procedures are not effective, but they can be a marker for a surgeon who is not following the recent literature closely.
Drugs That Cause Urinary Incontinence
Frederick R. Jelovsek MD
How can drugs cause urinary incontinence?
Do medications prescribed for hypertension cause incontinence?
Medications causing incomplete bladder emptying include:
- hyoscyamine (Cystospaz®, Urised®, Donnatal®, Levbid®. Levsin®)
- oxybutinin (Ditropan®)
- benztropine (Cogentin®)
- trihexyphenidyl (Artane®)
- pindolol (Pindolol®)
- disopyramide (Norpace®)
What side effects from medications should I watch out for if I already have urinary leakage?
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